Roses Are Red, Terrors Are Blue?
by xXPrincessMXx
Summary: -Roxas's life has always been normal and perhaps a bit boring. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.- Roxiri
1. The Accident

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

_**Chapter One  
>An Accident<strong>_

_Twilight Town – Last night at 11 PM, a horrible accident took place at the Town Plaza. A car crashed into an approaching vehicle. Research showed the driver, Luxord W. , had been drinking too much and then took the car to go home after spending a night in the pub. When he arrived at the Town Plaza, he must've seen the other vehicle too late, and then crashed into it.  
>Luxord survived the accident, but the married couple, Aerith and Lea Hikari, in the other vehicle, unfortunately, died in the hospital at 3 AM.<em>

My father sighed while turning over to the next page. "Saddening, this. Very sad indeed."  
>"Don't read while we're having breakfast, dear," My mother chirped as she entered the dining room with her own plate.<br>"Have you heard about the accident from last night?" My father retorted. "It's not so far away from our place."  
>My mother frowned and reached for the papers. "Can I read the obituaries?"<br>"Sure," My dad said, while taking a sip of his coffee and handing the papers over. "Yeah, Roxas," He said to me, looking seriously. "It's not always your own fault if something bad happens to you in the traffic. There are a lot of morons outside."  
>I nodded, and swallowed my cereal.<br>Then, my mother gasped. "Oh my God! That's so horrible!"  
>"What's wrong?"<br>"Mrs. and Mr. Hikari! They have four children!" My mother said, while covering her mouth with her hand. "And two of them are two years old!"  
>My father hummed. "Horrible. Terrible accident."<br>I stood up, taking my backpack. "I'll be off to school."  
>"Be careful," my mother said, still upset because of the news.<br>My father nodded wisely. "Now you see how much alcohol can tear apart, son."  
>"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mumbled while closing the door behind me.<p>

At school, the accident was a huge topic.  
>"Olette, you live close to the Town Plaza, don't you?" Hayner asked her while we were walking through the corridor. "And God, Pence, stop eating for once!"<br>Olette nodded, looking pale. "I heard a loud crash, and when I looked through my window, I saw many flash lights. I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night."  
>Pence swallowed a huge bite of his chocolate bar. "I think it's very sad for the Hikari family. They had six children, right?"<br>"Four," Olette corrected him. "I happen to know their daughter. Poor Kairi."  
>I sighed. "There hasn't anything happened like this before here, right? It always seems so far away… and yet…"<br>"It is very close now," Hayner added with a frown. "And to think we usually held our fight competitions there… I don't think we'll organize them there this year."  
>Olette shivered a bit. "I hope they don't organize them at all… they're horrible. They're supposed to… you know, create <em>friendship <em>between participants… but all that happens is more fights and enemies."  
>"Olette!" Hayner wailed. "Don't be so… mature and responsible! It's boring!"<br>"Yeah, Olette! Think about all the free food they serve!" Pence also whined.  
>"Is all you can think about food?" Olette snapped, irritated. "I was being serious here, you know!"<br>I chuckled as I watched my friends bicker.  
>Still, something about that accident bugged me.<br>I was sure I'd heard the name 'Hikari' before.  
>If only I knew where…<p>

In my English class, Mr. Brown walked in without saying a word. The room fell silent as he closed the door, moved over to his desk and sat down, not saying anything at all.  
>He stared at his desk, then moved his hand to raise his glasses, so they rested on top of his head.<br>When he raised his gaze to the class, we all stared back, confused.  
>"Guys… I'm sure you've all heard about the accident from last night."<br>"Yes, sir," We said, beginning to understand what direction this was going to take.  
>Zexion Brown sighed deeply, and then folded his hands together.<br>"I hope you'll all share your compassion with the Hikari-family when they return to school, and don't be rude to them. They're going to a very tough time right now, and the last thing they need is more trouble. Try to be nice to them. It's very hard to lose your parents, and even more when you're still a child, and you lose both of them at the same time."  
>None of us said something. Even Seifer, who usually had a way to ruin the silence, remained silent.<br>Mr. Brown smiled a bit. "I'm glad that you guys are so caring, even though you are a horrible class to teach."  
>And even to that, no one said something, which was very rare.<br>"So, when Axel Hikari and Kairi Hikari return to school, be sure to be nice to them, okay?"  
>Axel Hikari.<br>That was where I'd heard the name 'Hikari' before!  
>Axel was the redheaded guy who shared two classes with me, and who once called the History teacher 'Miss Fancy-Pants'. He was put in detention and I heard he was suspended too after he lit the Headmaster's bicycle on fire.<br>But even though he seemed to be horrible to teachers, I heard he was a funny guy to be with.  
>Shame this had to happen to him.<br>Nobody deserved an accident like this in their lives.  
><em><br>___


	2. The Past

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Two<br>The Past  
><strong>_

* * *

><p>"<em>I hope you'll all share your compassion with the Hikari-family when they return to school, and don't be rude to them. They're going to a very tough time right now, and the last thing they need is more trouble. Try to be nice to them. It's very hard to lose your parents, and even more when you're still a child, and you lose both of them at the same time."<em>

Easier said than done.

* * *

><p>When Axel Hikari returned to school, he rejected every form of help and compassion, and didn't want to listen to any kind of comfort.<p>

He forced himself in an isolated circle, and made sure to knock everybody who cared out of it.

He turned into a complete silence, and at a certain point, people began to give up.

What's the point in helping someone who doesn't want to be helped?

And yet, I couldn't help but pity the tall redhead as he walked through the hallway, head bowed to the ground, a grim expression on his face.

No one deserved a mess like this.

Even the troublemaker at school didn't.

But time moves on, and the accident got shoved somewhere deep inside a black page in history.

People started to forget.

It's always like that; people forget about things in the past of others, while certain persons will never forget.

I think Axel knew.

And that might be the reason why he rejected everyone.

* * *

><p>"Roxas!"<p>

I turned my head around the door. "What?"

"Where are you going?" My mom demanded, while pointing threatening at me with a wooden spoon.

"I'm eighteen, mom," I muttered while grabbing my coat. "I'm not a baby. I'll be back before dusk. I need some fresh air."

"Fine," My mom said, while she beamed at me. "And if you happen to see your dad, tell him that your grandmother has some paperwork ready for him."

"I will, and I bet he will be so delighted to hear that." I said sarcastically, opening the front door. "Bye!"

"Bye, Roxas!"

* * *

><p>I sat down, folding my arms behind my head.<p>

The Plaza was getting empty, and I would be the only one here.

My life had always been normal.

Maybe a little too much.

I'm just… average. There's nothing in particular that I'm good at, or something that I truly fail in.

I have friends, I'm not lonely, unhappy, or anything.

I might see a little more than others, but I blend in so perfectly I'm not sure I can call that special.

I'm just your average boy who has never left this town.

The only thing that was completely different from my everyday-routine was that accident from two years ago. And that wasn't even something to be happy with.

The car crash in the Town Plaza, right here.

* * *

><p>"What're you thinking about, Blondie?"<p>

I jumped to my feet, and turned in a flash. "Whoa-!"

He leaned against the pillar and crossed his arms, while smirking mischievously. "You shouldn't be scared that easily, Blondie."

I straightened myself and crossed my arms too, in a ridiculous flash of defense. "Axel Hikari."

His smirk widened. "Got it memorized?" He said while tapping his finger against the side of his head. "And what's your name, Blondie?"

"Roxas Strife," I said.

"Nice to meet you," He said, extending his hand. "Even though we meet at a doomed place like this."

We had at least one thing in common.

The accident from two years ago had affected both of us.

Of course it had been affecting him more than it would ever affect me, or any random person who remembered.

After all, he was the son of the people who died here, in that car crash.

"So why are you here then?" I said as I shook his hand. "Isn't it hard for you to be here?"

He sat down, staring at the sky. "It is. But why avoid coming here? You can't run away forever, you know."

I sat down next to him, carefully. "I'd think you have every right to avoid coming here. But I suppose you're right."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Life continues, no matter what."

"That's hard," I commented.

"But it's true," He said, while looking at me. "You look familiar, though. Have I seen you before?"

"We went to the same school and shared two classes," I said. "You were the troublemaker of my year. And you used to battle my best friend in the 'Sword Competitions'."

"Hayner?"

"Yeah."

He started laughing a bit. "Ah, I recall seeing you before now. The silent smart-ass in English and History who acted like a zombie."

"Oh, thanks a ton, Axel."

He grinned at me.

"You know, you seem kinda… cheery…" I said carefully, watching my words with caution.

He smiled a bit, although it seemed a bit sad now. "It might sound weird what I'm going to say… you know, I still miss them. There's so much I wanted to say to them… but I have to move on. I have to. They wouldn't want me to still weep all day and all night."

"That doesn't sound very weird."

He looked at me. "It does, to a lot of people. They still expect me to cry when they bring the subject up, they still expect me to be sad. They don't understand."

"They can't understand," I said, carefully. "They haven't been through the same."

He shrugged. "Perhaps."

We fell into a silence.

The sun started to set, and I remembered I promised I would come home before dusk.

Even though I could take care of myself, my mother liked to have me at home at the right time. She didn't like it when I went out of our daily structure.

And besides, what else was there left for me to do? I just… lived my life? In my daily structure?

"I gotta go," I said. "See you later?"

His green eyes studied me for a moment. "Sure. Say, what do you think of meeting up again?"

I cocked my head to the side. "You want to?"

He started to laugh. "Why don't you consider yourself my friend, Blondie, if you'd like?" He chuckled. "Tomorrow morning, 4 o'clock in the afternoon at the Clock Tower?"

"It's a date!" I said, smiling a bit. "Er, you know what, never mind. I'll see you there!"

"Don't be late, got it memorized?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN Thanks for reading :) I hope this lived up to your expectations ^^**

**Some of you might've noticed I've been offline for quite some time, and I shouldn't call this exactly my comeback, but I try to write further from time to time. I did not die, neither did I forget. So don't worry ^^**

**I really appreciate you all :D thanks for reading, once again ^^ **

**I hope to see you soon :D 3 )**


	3. Sea Salt

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Three<br>Sea Salt**_

* * *

><p>If I'd like, I could consider Axel as a friend.<p>

I mean, why not?

Okay, Axel might be just the sort of guy I usually don't befriend myself with, but who cares?

I consider him as a friend. Sort of.

So I pulled on my coat at three thirty o'clock and I headed for the Clock Tower.

* * *

><p>I took my time getting there.<p>

There usually weren't a lot of people on the streets here, so it was a very quiet 'stroll', as my father would call it.

I wondered what it was like, a crowded town, with people buzzing around town like bees around honey.

I suppose I would very much dislike it. I preferred to be on my own, like this.

And, this place was crowded, if you knew where to look.

I was sure there were lots of things going on inside the quiet houses, looking dull on the outside.

For example, Hayner's place was not so quiet as it looked on the outside.

His parents were always shouting at each other, and fighting over every little thing.

Olette's little brothers were a real pain in the ass sometimes, just like Pence and his mother, who thought he ate way too much.

I guess my family matched perfectly with this town.

I stared gloomily at the ground. We were probably just as dull and quiet as the rest of this town.

Maybe that wasn't a bad thing. It did mean I was happy, sort of. Of course I would welcome a little bit of action, but I was certainly not unhappy.

Maybe I was just weird. There are so many horrible things in this world, like the one which just happened here two years ago and I'm complaining because I consider my life as dull.

I should shut up. I really should.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Blondie."<p>

Axel was already there, holding two bars of ice-cream. He was early, and so was I. The Clock Tower had risen up before me without me even noticing.

It was on top of the hill this town had been built on, and it was part of the station.

Axel looked quite happy that I'd shown up. "Hi, Axel."

He grinned widely at me as he extended one of the ice-cream bars at me.

"Want one?"

We went up, and sat down together.

"What's this?" I said, pointing at the blue ice-cream bar. I'd never seen one before. Not one of these.

He looked shocked.

"It's sea salt ice-cream!" He said, a disbelieving tone raising in his voice. "I can't believe you haven't heard about them! They are very popular. And they're good, of course."

I took a careful bite. "It's salt. But kinda sweet too."

"Do you like it?"

I grinned at him. "Yeah, it's great. Thanks, Axel."

He grinned back. "You're welcome!"

"By the way, what the hell are those tattoos under your eyes?"

"Oh, shut up. You just ruined the moment."

* * *

><p>The sky turned red as the sun started to set, and sink lower and lower into the Earth.<p>

Axel was quick to tell me why the sun sets red.

"Hey, Roxas."

I looked up at him, looking questioning.

"Bet you don't know why the sun sets red."

I returned my gaze to the sunset, wondering why, indeed, the sun sets red.

I would never admit I didn't know why, after all these years of watching the sunset. I should be ashamed.

Problem? I wasn't. Besides, Axel already continued.

"You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

He seemed kind of smug, so I aimed an elbow at him.

"Like I asked! Know-It-All."

We started to laugh and it took us a while to recover.

It did take our ice-creams, in any case.

* * *

><p>"So, what do you do, you know?" Axel asked as he rested his back against the wall.<p>

I let my feet dangle from the top as I shrugged. "I have a part time job at the mall."

"What do you do there?"

I winked. "I work at a store which sells DVD's and rents them, you know, the one who also sells games and music and stuff? That's also the only reason why I continue doing it."

He laughed. "So, does it pay well?"

I shrugged again. "Kinda. It's better than nothing, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"What about you?" I said as I turned to look at him. "What do you do?"

"I keep getting fired," He grumbled. "That's my part time job, no seriously, apparently, they think I'm too temperamental for any sort of job. But these days, I work at the shoe store. For as long as it takes before I get fired again."

I chuckled. "Maybe shoes are … er. Your thing?"

He snorted. "Sure!" He closed his eyes, but kept smiling. "You know, who would've guessed I'd be here with you."

"Don't get too sentimental. You got friendzoned."

He burst into laughter, and I did too.

"So, you did consider it as a date?" He grinned, while winking at me. "Did you know I actually do fall for blondes?"

I stuck my tongue at him.

He gave me a nudge in the ribs. "So, do you have any female siblings?"

"Nope," I said, giving a nudge back. "I actually don't have siblings at all."

"Oh," Axel said, pulling his legs closer to himself. "You know, I feel kinda sorry for you because of that. I'm really glad I have siblings. They mean the world to me. Sometimes."

"Yeah, that's right. You have a sister right?" I said, turning my back to the sunset.

"Kairi, yes," He said, smiling tenderly. "She's awesome. She's been doing so great for the past two years. But I also have two twin brothers. Vanitas and Sora."

"I forgot," I realized. "How old are they again?"

"They are four years old now," He said. "They don't remember much from our parents, like Kairi and I do."

"They were too young," I said, lowering my voice. "But they have you and your sister to tell them about your parents, right?"

He chuckled. "Yeah. It'll turn out a bit confusing, seeing as they think Kairi is their mother."

"What?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, they call her 'mommy', so, I think they think she is their mother."

I blinked a couple of times. "Oh. And do they call you 'daddy'?"

"Nope. I'm Axy," He groaned. "I wish they called me 'Axe', or something. That makes me sound cool."

"No. It makes you sound like deodorant. I'm sorry," I said with a smirk as I dodged a whack aimed at my head.

"You jerk."

"Anytime."

"But, you know, how is your family doing after the accident?" I said, looking at my new redheaded friend. "I mean, did someone come to take care of you?"

He frowned. "Yeah, a friend from my father, Terra, who lives in Radiant Garden, came to visit us and take care of things. The rest of my family lives too far away. They came for the funeral, but couldn't stay."

"And then?"

"Well, Terra couldn't stay long too, but he did give us some money and took care of some important things, so we could just stay here."

"But you were sixteen by then. You are the-"

"Yeah, I suddendly was the head of the house," He chuckled a bit. "But c'mon, do I look like one?"

I ignored his remark, and thought for a while.

"How old is Kairi?"

"She was fifteen by the time."

He nodded and stretched himself. "I lost it completely, but Kairi was actually the one who started cleaning up, doing a bit of cooking, trying to find a job, trying to take care of everyone. Thanks to her, we survived."

We fell into silence, our thoughts somewhere else as we watched the sun disappear.

It's a nice thought...

That everything that's gone, like the sunset, comes back somehow, like the sunrise.

It's a circle.

Maybe.

* * *

><p>"You know, I should get going," I said, looking at my wrist watch. "It'll be kind of early tomorrow, you see."<p>

He glanced at me. "Oh, you've got work to do?"

I hummed as I rose, a bit clumsy because I'd sat down for so long.

"Good luck. See you tomorrow?"

I shrugged. "Don't know. Depends."

He grinned. "Let me know, okay."

"I will. See you later!"

"See ya, Roxas. Oh, and if you want to ring, my number must be on a list from school, got it memorized?"

* * *

><p><strong>(AN  
>I wrote this rather quickly, for what I'm used to, but I'm not sure about the quality. But rather than keeping this filed up on my computer for like ages again, I just wanted it online for you to read.<br>Didn't really check for grammar and other mistakes, so I'm sorry if you find any of those :( **

**For the first time, I kind of have a complete picture about the plot. Yes, I still do a lot of improvising along the way, but I know where every chapter is heading. Which means some of them might be short. *hides* **

**Hmm…. I'm not sure what to make from this chapter. I'm not really contented, but I'm not dissatisfied either. It has to be there, but it's not my favorite chapter.  
>Ah, well, I hope you liked it and I hope to see you all very soon again ;) ) <strong>


	4. The Hikari's

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

_**Chapter Four  
>The Hikari's<strong>_

It had been a quiet morning. There wasn't much work to, so Hayner and I could leave early. Our boss said he could handle the customers alone and let us go off.

"Quite lucky today, aren't we?" Hayner muttered under his breath once the shop vanished from our sight.

"Guess so," I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets. "Guess he wanted to steal some of his own CD's again."

"I bet he does," Hayner said bitterly. "And then he nearly fires me when I accidentally slipped a game in my bag… the bastard."

I started to laugh. "Does Olette know you tried to steal from your work?"

"Hush," He mumbled, a bit flushed.

"So, she doesn't know she's dating a thief, huh?" I grinned. "Well, in comparison to Seiffer, I prefer you, I think."

"Oh, shut up," Hayner said, aiming a hit at my head. "At least I never got drunk while a Christmas party and tried to kiss Pence under the mistletoe," He added, beaming at me.

"That wasn't me," I said, feeling embarrassed. "It was my very much lookalike twin brother."

"Never knew you had one."

"… Don't really have one, though."

We looked at each other for a moment and started to laugh.

"At least Pence nearly got to kiss someone hot," I said, winking at him.

He barked a laugh. "God, Roxas, you need serious help, you hear? You scared the shit out of the poor guy."

"Yeah… well. You guys scared the hell out of me too when you told me what happened the next morning." I said, shivering. "I solemnly swore not to drink anymore after that."

"We will see next Christmas," Hayner said, sticking his tongue at me. "I will bring a recorder this time."

"Sure, then I'll record you while flirting with the waitress and get smacked in the balls by Olette, okay?" I chuckled. "Oh, man, I sure loved that look on your face."

He flushed again. "That's- No, that's different- I mean, I was _kinda_ drunk too- Wait, no, oh, shut your face," He grumbled when I just started to laugh harder.

I said goodbye to him and promised to meet up with him later as we parted ways.

xxx

After a couple of minutes laying down on my bed and thinking about yesterday's events, I was tired of being bored.

After rummaging through my usual mess, I found the old list from school, in which addresses and phone numbers were collected from your classmates.

I found Axel's number, put it in my phone and stared at it.

Would I ring or would I wait? It was still early… but I had no idea if he was awake or not.

I decided to stop by. I could always make up my mind that way and head for Pence's place instead. He was probably organizing his old photo's.

Not to mention it did feel kind of strange to visit him, I thought as I closed the front door behind me. I had hardly known the guy and I had no idea how to truly handle him. He seemed okay, but to lose your parents in a car crash does deal a great amount of damage, nevertheless.

It might also be a bit depressing, visiting Axel's place, as I imagined it to be tainted with the loss of their parents.

I gave myself a mental slap in the face. God, I was such a coward sometimes. Not to mention a dick.

_I am Roxas Strife, your average guy from next door. I'm a coward and a prick, but I can do this. _

_I can do this._

_xxx_

"Coming, coming!" A voice bellowed behind the closed front door of Axel's house. "Van, NO! Don't eat that- oh gross. Sora, don't, for heaven's sake, stop trying to- VAN, what did I tell you,- NO! I'm coming!"

Finally the door opened, revealing a very annoyed Axel with two small children clinging to his legs.

"Oh, hey, Roxas!" He said, looking relieved, trying to pry his younger siblings from his legs.

"Who that?" The boy with black hair asked his older brother, poking his leg. "Yeah, who that?" The other boy with brown hair repeated him, who started to poke his older brother's leg as well.

"That's a friend of mine," Axel said while leading me inside and still trying to pry the boys off him. "C'mon, let go, Sora, Vanitas, now! Ow, stop poking, you damn kids!"

I chuckled. "Need some help?"

Axel looked kind of desperate. "Yeah, well, usually I can handle them, really-"

Then the black-haired boy demanded his full attention back by biting in his hand.

"OUCH! You damn- Didn't Kairi tell you not to bite people?" Axel growled at the boy, rubbing his sore hand while grabbing the laughing toddler.

The other boy, the brown haired one, let go of Axel's leg and stared up at me. "Who are you?" He said, narrowing his eyes and pointing an accusing finger at me.

I got down on my knees so I was eye level with the small boy. "I'm Roxas," I said, trying to sound friendly and trying to hold in my laughter. "And who are you?"

"I'm Sora," The boy said, pointing to himself.

Sora's brother had finally let go of his brother too and bounced over to us. "And I'm Vanitas," He exclaimed happily. "Van, if you are a pirate."

"C'mon, kids, get to the living room," Axel said. "Roxas, want something to drink?"

"Yeah," I said, getting up. "I don't really mind what. I'll have what you have."

Axel disappeared and the twins crossed both their small arms. "You here to steal our treasure?" Vanitas demanded, sounding surprisingly threatening for such a small boy.

"Of course not," I said brightly. "I'm here to help you search for it."

Sora started to clap his hands. "So you want to play with us?"

"Yeah, sure," I said, as the kids started to tug at my hands.

The Hikari's place was a bit smaller than I'd imagined it, but was still very spacious.

The space itself, however, was completely covered with toys. I nearly tripped over a toy car.

"Don't mind the mess," Axel called from the kitchen. "Just try to watch your step."

Thanks for the early message, I thought sarcastically as the kids pulled me down to the floor.

"Now," Vanitas said, touching his lip thoughtfully. "What will we do with you?"

"Are you our prisoner?" Sora asked me hopefully, poking my cheek.

"No, Sora," Axel said, returning to the room with a tray with drinks. "Here, I brought your soda. Here's lemonade for the twins!" Axel added as he handed them over to the little boys.

They gulped down their drinks and then ran off again, their excited voices drifting off along with them.

"What're they up to now?" I said to Axel, who fell down in the couch with a tired sigh.

"Dunno," He muttered darkly. "God, they're horrible if you have to face them alone."

"They can't be that bad, can they?" I said, taking my drink as well. They seemed rather cute to me.

"Hey, Axel, do you know-oh!"

We both turned to face the owner of the voice in the doorway. The petite girl had a towel wrapped around her and her crimson hair was wet, dripping water onto the floor.

She caught my eye and we both flushed at the same time. Then she turned and made a run for the stairs.

"And that was my lovely sister Kairi," Axel said, grinning. "Making a rather striking appearance in the doorway."

I chuckled nervously, running a hand through my hair, feeling kind of embarrassed myself too. I'd never seen a girl like that, not even Olette.

Hayner would've knocked me dead too if I ever did, though.

After a few minutes, a very embarrassed Kairi reappeared, fully clothed now.

"I'm so sorry for barging in like that," She said, extending her hand to me as she sat down too. "I'm Kairi, although I think Axel's told you already."

"I'm Roxas," I said, feeling still a bit uneasy. "Nice to meet you."

She smiled at me, blush fading.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

The twins were back again and climbed up the chair to jump on her lap. "Mommy! Guess what, guess what?"

Kairi beamed at them as she made them sit down, one on each leg. "You guys found the treasure?" She whispered in a hushed voice.

"No, no treasure," Vanitas said impatiently as Sora stuck his thumb in his mouth.

"Hmm," She said thoughtfully, winking at Axel, who grinned back. "Maybe you have stolen Axel's keys again?"

"No," Vanitas said, glowing with pride. "We just hid them, but that's not it."

Axel groaned. "Oh, great," He muttered under his breath. "Those damned kids."

I laughed and leaned back in the chair. "Be happy it's not your own fault you keep losing them. I don't have any excuses but my own lack of memory."

He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh, joy. Now I feel so much better."

Kairi made the third wrong guess and Sora impatiently removed his thumb from his mouth. "No, mommy! We made Roxy prisoner!"

Axel snorted and choked on his drink.

Kairi started to laugh. "Oh, is that so?"

The twins nodded, looking very pleased with themselves. I tried not to burst into laughter.

"Well, I think that's not very nice of you," Kairi said, in a mock stern voice. "No cookies anymore today!"

"Awwwh," They pouted. "Please? Pretty please?"

"With a strawberry on top?" Axel added, pouting along.

"No!" Kairi said, laughing as she brushed the twins off her lap. "None of you get a cookie, because Riku ate them all yesterday."

Vanitas and Sora looked at each other, frowning. "Now he must be punished," Vanitas said in a low tone which kind of frightened me a little. "He stole our secret treasure!"

Sora nodded in agreement. "Let's put some bugs from our secret hiding place in his shoes next time!"

With that, they ran off again, crying out some chants.

Kairi stifled another bubble of laughter as she pointed at my shoes. "If I were you, I would untie them before you stand up, you know."

I looked down to find my shoelaces from both shoes knotted together.

Axel gulped down the rest of his drink. "You gotta admit they are kinda clever, don't you think? Still think they can't be that bad?"

I snorted as I leaned down to undo the knot. "Yeah, well, I'm glad they don't have a lighter. You know, they might've set my shoes on fire."

"Then at least you have warm feet," Kairi said brightly as she left to room to search for the twins again. "I'll take them for a walk so you guys have some rest."

"Bye, Kai!" Axel said, standing up to fiddle with some TV cables on the floor.

"Bye Kairi," I said to her, smiling at her.

She smiled back at me. "I hope to see you again, Roxas."

"Same," I mumbled after her as she left. I felt slightly dazed.

"You know," Axel said, laying flat on his stomach to separate the cables, tip of his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. "You're really something special."

"How so?" I asked, lacing my shoes up the proper way.

"They talked to you and included you in their pranks," Axel said, pausing to wink at me. "Believe me, they only do that with people they're really familiar with. So, welcome to the family, Rox!"

I beamed at him. "So that means I can come over anytime?" That somehow made me feel happy.

He rolled with his eyes. "You could've done that even without the twin's approval," He said, attention back on the cables. "But just… just don't barge in at midnight, okay? I need my sleep every now and then."

"Oh, really? I thought I'd just found my zombie partner in crime!"

"Shut it, Blondie."

xxxx

„Oh, that's nice," Olette commented as we sat down in our usual spot in the bar. „I'm glad you got out again."

„It's not like he locks himself in his room every day to cut himself," Hayner snorted, crossing his arms.

„But it's not like he has a very active social life besides us," Pence added, starting to leave the table to get our drinks.

I groaned. „Come on guys, seriously?"

„No, really Roxas," Olette said with a concerned look on her face. „You are a good friend of us, but we were really worried whether you were truly happy… it just didn't seem that way very often."

„Stop it," I mumbled. „I'm perfectly happy."

„You do seem happy now," Olette said, a bright smile replacing the concerned look. „So, how was Kairi?"

„Oh, right," I said. „You knew Kairi."

„I still know her," She said, laughing. „I just don't get to hang out with her so often anymore. She's very busy these days."

„And so are you," Hayner said teasingly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leaning into her neck to give her a small kiss there.

Olette giggled and pushed him away a little. „I'm kind of busy, indeed."

Pence returned with the drinks. „Here we are then!"

„Thanks, Pence," Olette said, taking her drink as Hayner patted Pence on the back. „Next time's my treat," he said while grabbing his drink. „Thanks, man!"

„Thank you," I said as I took mine while Pence sat down with his own drink.

I smiled at my three friends. They were good friends and they had always been.

But it was true that they seemed to indulge in their passions, in relationships and in life in general, where I got the feeling I was stuck in a pattern I couldn't escape from.

„So, how is the Hikari family doing?" Pence asked. „Must've been rough on them."

„It was," I said thoughtfully. „Though they seem okay, even though they have to work very hard to make it all possible."

„I think it's good that they still have each other," Hayner suddenly said. „It means you can depend on each other when you're going through a rough time, especially when you know the other has been through the same."

„Yeah, I think so," I murmured. „They seem very close."

„They have two younger siblings, right?" Pence stated, taking a sip.

„Yes, that's right," I said, grinning. „They're four years old and they're hilarious. Axel calls them the ‚Twin Terrors', but I think he's exaggerating."

Hayner chuckled. „You might not be saying that anymore when you've visited them a couple of times."

Olette beamed. „I really hope you do. I really hope you will." 

And why the hell not? 

-x-x-x-x

„So that concludes all the advantages of this new system. I can guarantee you that it'll…" I looked up when the small bell above the door rang.

A certain grinning redhead had entered the shop.

„I mean, I can asure you, sir, that this system will solve the problems you have been experiencing with your CD's," I told the man who was still hesitating as he looked down upon the big box.

„So all I have to do is to buy this system and get it installed?"

I nodded. „Yes. You can also look for the proper cables and try to fix the old system, but you can count on me when I tell you they will switch to this new system in a couple of months, and then you won't be able to play your newer CD's on the old system. It might seem expensive right now, but you'll benefit from it later."

„Oh," the man said, ruffling through his short, blonde hair. „Can I also play my own guitar on this system?"

„Why, yes, of course," I answered, smiling. „It's the same as the old one, but newer and improved. The sound will be greatly improved, you will find out soon enough?"

He was on the hook. „Seriously? Right. Thanks, man. I'll buy it."

„Great," I said as I scanned the product. „That'll be 800 munny, please."

The man made a face but pulled out a card. „Everything for good music," he said jokingly as he put the card in the system and typed in his code.

Axel was looking at the shelves, obviously waiting. I held back a grin as I waited for the man to finish.

„All right, thank you very much," I said as I shoved the product in a plastic bag with the receipt. „Come again and have a nice day."

„Same to you," the man said, grinning widely as he took his bag. „Goodbye."

„Roxas!"

„Axel!" I said as he leaned on the counter. „What's up, man?"

„Nice store man. I might be secretly wanting to fire myself from the shoe shop and start working here," he said, crossing his arms. „I got a message for you."

„And that message is?" I said, raising a brow as I wrote down the purchase of the blonde man for my boss.

„Kairi invites you over for dinner because she thinks I'm a pathetic lonely bastard," he chuckled.

„Wait, what?" I said, looking up from the note. „She thinks what?"

„I'm only joking," he grinned. „She does think I'm lonely though. So come on join us tonight."

„Whoa… really? I mean, we're barely…"

„Don't worry," Axel said, smiling at me. „Riku's gonna be there too, so it'll be a full house anyways. The more the merrier. Actually, then he and Kairi can watch the kids and we can play videogames if you'd like."

„Geez, thanks," I said, feeling strangely happy. „I look forward to it! Wait, I can pick up some games here, if I bring them back tomorrow! Have you seen anything that you'd like to try?"

„Really, man? Sweet," Axel whistled. „Let's go for Grand Theft Auto Five, Call of Duty 3 and Mario Kart. That should keep us busy for the night."  
>„All right," I said, walking around the counter. „Let's collect them without making it seem like we're stealing."<p>

Axel laughed. „Nice. Won't your boss mind?"

„I don't think so. Unless we really steal them," I said, chuckling.

I extended the note for my boss, telling him that I took home three games to play with my friend and that I left 200 munny as a surety.

My parents were pleasantly surprised that I wouldn't join them for dinner and that I would be home late.

And there I was, standing in front of the mirror because I was incredibly nervous.

I finally went along with a nice shirt and my favorite jeans and the feeling I was more girly than I wanted myself to be.

**(A/N)****  
><strong> 

**Oh my God, she published! Yes, yes, I published. Man, although I hated this chapter for almost a year, I believe, I can't believe how much fun I started to have while rewriting. This is what I write for. ******

**All right, I hope you have fun reading this; I've giving up on this being the ‚story of my life', simply because I have so many ideas right now and I'm sure there will be many more. But this is a story that I like, the concept at least. I hope I can share that fun with you guys and thanks so much if you waited for this chapter to come. ****  
><strong>**I'm so thankful if you would stick with me until the very end. ******

**Besides, everyone who wants to read more about the Twin Terrors, raise your hand (raises). Better get writing for the next chapter and I hope to meet you there again. **

**Lots of love,**

**Your author. :)**


	5. Dinner, an Unicorn and Terrors Unleashed

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

_**Chapter Five  
>The Dinner, an Unicorn and the Terrors Unleashed<strong>_

I stood still in front of the door, grinning widely as I heard the heart of the house beat with so much life and energy.

It was truly astonishing to me, whereas my own home was always kind of quiet.

„Where's Van, Sora? Don't you dare lie to me!" An unknown male voice boomed through the door.

„Nu-uh, not telling!" Sora's high voice cried. „Stupid Riku!"

A groan erupted from the male's voice, so I figured Sora must've hurt him somehow.

„Sora! Don't kick Riku… uh… there," Axel interrupted. „Tell us where your brother is, because mommy is worried."

„You're lying," Sora cried out, his voice fading. „You're all stupid."

„You- C'mon, Riku, you okay?"

„I never want kids in my entire life," the male they called Riku answered.

„Not that you can ever have them again, so it seems," Axel stated dryly.

„Have you found Vanitas yet?" Kairi's light voice drifted into the scene. „Where's Sora now?"

„Just ran off," Axel growled. „I'll grab him."

„I'm sorry, Kairi, I got wounded in battle," Riku's voice was suddenly a lot smoother and lower.

I snickered as I realized Riku was trying to impress Kairi.

„Seriously, you let him go?" Kairi said, a little impatient. „C'mon Riku, you know how they are! Roxas can be here any minute now and we've got to be ready then! I can't make him wait for dinner because we let the children on the loose!"

Strange enough, it felt good that she just disregarded his attempt to smooth her over for me.

I tried to remove the smug look from my face as I knocked on the door.

„Oh no," Kairi said, sounding a bit upset. „He's here already. Riku, you better open the door while I try to help Axel find the twins, okay? And you'd better apologize to him!"

Riku grumbled something as I heard footsteps nearing the door, just when something, or rather someone, started crying real hard. „NO! NO I DON'T WANT TO! LET ME GOOOOO!"

The door opened, revealing a tall man with long, silver hair. Beneath his silver locks, emerald eyes gazed back at me.

„Hi, you must be Roxas," he said, sounding less smooth than before, as I tried not to laugh again.

I shook his extended hand. „You must be Riku, I heard you would be joining for dinner as well."

He nodded. „About that, sorry that we aren't finished yet, they're looking for the twins."

I noticed how he said ‚we'. He must be very important in the family, although I hadn't heard his name that much.

„They're off to other adventures than dinner?" I chuckled as I entered the house, hearing Axel roar against one of the twins, who was crying harder and harder to overthrow him.

„Kind of," Riku shrugged. He was looking suspiciously at me, his eyes narrow.

Axel stomped down the stairs, a wailing Vanitas under his arm. „Stop crying, Van! Oh, hey Roxas," he said, sounding immediately a lot more cheerful. „Good thing you came, man."

„It's my pleasure," I said, beaming. „Shall I help track down Sora?"

„No need, no need," Kairi breathed, coming in the scene, Sora on her arm, who had his head rested upon her shoulder. „I've got him here. Hi, Roxas," she said with a dazzling smile. „Thanks for coming, even though we aren't quite ready yet, I'm sorry."

I felt something flutter in my stomach. I must be hungry. „Don't worry," I said calmly. „I'll lend you a hand."

„Thanks," Kairi said as Vanitas gave a kick against Axel's arm, who dropped him so he could run to Kairi. „Oh, Van! Don't kick your brother! What do you say to Axel?"

Vanitas tried to grab Kairi's leg, but she strode to the kitchen without looking at him.

„I'm sorry Axy!" he wailed, running after Kairi, who picked him up as she sighed. „You can't hurt your brother like that, Vanitas."

Riku chuckled. „Don't be a pussy, Axel."

„Shut up, Riku," Axel said, rubbing his sore arm. „It's not like you have got balls either way."

Riku grumbled before following Kairi into the kitchen. Axel rolled his eyes at me before we joined him.

The kitchen was small and tidy, the black and white tiles nearly sparkled in the dim light.

The smell made my stomach groan. „That smells good!"

Kairi had put down Sora and Vanitas in their chairs and was now stirring in a pot. „Thanks! I hope it tastes just as good!"

„Of course it will," Riku was back on his flirt-track as he sneaked an arm around her waist to lean into the damp to get a better look. „You're the one who cooked it."

„Oh, stop it, you," Kairi said, blushing.

It kind of bothered me, but I had no idea why. Perhaps it was because Riku was too smooth and Kairi was Axel's sister. Perhaps I was a little protective of her.

Axel didn't look pleased either way, he cleared his throat and made incredibly much noise while making the table.

I took over a couple of plates and helped him get it ready.

„Roxy! Roxy! Roxy!" Sora chanted as he drummed the rhythm of his words on the table.

„Hello Sora!" I said cheerfully as I put down his plate and ran a quick hand through his spiky hair. „How are you doing, mister?"

„Riku is stupid," Sora said, trying to grab my hand. „Are you going to play with us, Roxy?"

„Of course I will play with you," I grinned. „But after dinner, all right?"

Sora beamed at me and then turned to Vanitas, who was at the other end of the table. „Van! Vani! Vani! Van! Roxy is going to play with us!"

Vanitas hummed, pumping a little fist in the air. „We shall punish Riku!"

Riku turned, his arm still around Kairi's waist, his face disgruntled. „Vanitas and Sora, to make myself clear: I do not wish to be punished tonight."

The twins started to laugh and Axel smirked. „Thank God we're not their pray, Roxas! Let's escape!"

Kairi didn't say anything, but she was smiling, I could see it in the slight turn of her head.

She then handed the pot over to Riku. „Could you please put this on the table, Riku?"

„Sure, Princess," he said, winking at her, resulting in another faint blush which made me dislike Riku. „Oh, really, stop it, Riku!" she muttered, hiding a cheek in her hand.

A few minutes later, I realized that I should come here every night to eat, because it was incredibly delicious.

„How does it taste?" Kairi said, a bit concerned as no one said anything; she was helping Sora, who didn't want to eat it unless Kairi would feed him while Vanitas was smugly pressing food in his mouth, instead covering his face with macaroni.

„It's wonderful," Riku said with that slick voice of his. „It tastes amazing, Kairi!"

„What about you, Roxas?" She said, eyeing me. I noticed she had a couple violet specks in those sparkling blue eyes of hers. I felt a strange sensation in the pit of my stomach seeing that look. Strange.

„I have to agree with Riku," I said, after swallowing a bite. „It tastes great!"

„Good," she said, smiling. „I'm glad."

„And what about me?" Axel said indignant, while wiping Vanitas's face, who started protesting.

Kairi laughed. „I can guess, but did you like it too?"

„It could've been better," Axel said, smirking and sticking his tongue at her. „By the way, Roxas and I are going to play videogames after dinner, so we'd like to have the living room to ourselves."

„Great," Riku quickly said. „Then Kairi and I are going out; you can watch the terro- eh, twins."

„What?" Axel said, mouth open. „No! You were going to watch them, Riku!"

„Riku, I don't know, if they're going to do the violent ones, I don't want them to be around then," Kairi said in a worried tone.

„But Kairi! You finally agreed to go out with me!" Riku said, pouting.

„I know, Riku, but the kids come first place, you know that," Kairi said sternly. „I can't just leave them be."

„But they're playing dumb games!" Riku said in a louder tone.

„Games?" Vanitas asked, looking interested. „Are you going to play games?"

„Game-time!" Sora exclaimed, clapping his hands.

„Well, there's no stopping them now," Riku muttered darkly. „C'mon Axel, Roxas, help me out here, you can check on them every now and then, can't you?"

„Roxas has brought games especially for tonight," Axel said stubbornly. „It'd be a shame if we didn't use them!"

„Riku, we didn't invite Roxas over to have him babysit along with Axel and the kids need to be put to bed," Kairi said matter-of-factly. „We better stay home and I'll go out with you later."

Riku seemed extremely disgruntled as he crossed his arms.

„Well, how late did you want to leave?" I asked carefully, not looking at Riku.

I figured that if Kairi wanted to go out tonight, she deserved a night off if she was always so busy taking care of the family.

„We were leaving eight o'clock," Riku answered, chagrin clear on his face.

„It's half past six right now," I said, checking my watch. „We can leave the washing-up for later and Axel and I can start playing the more violent games so when you leave, we can play Mario Kart with the twins. I think we can try that for a while before they have to go to bed. Then after that, we can resume our more violent night. Idea?"

Kairi shook her head. „Really, Roxas," she said, giving me a pleading look. „We really did invite you as our guest, not as babysitter."

„But if he wants to do it, Kairi, then it's no problem," Riku quickly added as he gave me thumbs-up. „Thanks, man."

„No, Riku!" Kairi said sternly. „Don't be like that! You were the one who made our reservation in advance!"

Axel sighed. „Kairi, you go out tonight. Roxas and I will take care of the twins tonight," he said as he put down Vanitas on the floor, just when Kairi let Sora go. „We will make sure everything is clean, tidy and asleep when you come back. I will make sure Roxas here will still feel like he's a guest in the Hikari family," Axel said grinning, putting an arm around my chair. „Right, Roxas?"

„Of course," I said easily. „Have fun together." Perhaps Riku was just hopelessly in love that made him act so exasperating. Perhaps if I gave him a shot with Kairi, everything would fall into place and he wouldn't be so… bothersome.

I shook off the feeling that it would only be more bothersome.

„We owe you, Roxas," Kairi said, smiling at me. „I'll make it up to you once, okay?"

„Sure, whatever you like," I said, running a hand through my hair. „It's my pleasure, actually."

"C'mon, Kairi, we need to get ready," Riku said, leaning more into her chair as she backed away a little.

"Right," she said as she stood up. "But we'll do the washing-up," she added, looking down at Riku. "That's the least we can do."

"Mommy, mommy, we found something!" Sora said, running up to Kairi. He opened his small hand to show her a small spider, crawling up his finger.

"Oh dear," Kairi said, obviously uncomfortable. "That's… wonderful, Sora," She said as she backed away from him a little bit. "Why don't you put him outside, honey?"

Vanitas joined his brother's side, hands on his hips. "Because we're going to put it in Riku's shoe to punish him!" he said smugly.

Riku suddenly made haste to put on his shoes as he left the kitchen without saying a word, but he did give the twins a dirty look.

I snickered a little, Axel joining me as Kairi tried to hide her smile.

"No, Vanitas, that's not nice," she told him. "It may seem funny to you, but think about the spider. Would you like to be put in a giant's shoe?"

"No!" Sora said, his face expressed shock. "He'll hurt me!"

"Exactly," Kairi said, running a hand through his hair. "And Riku will hurt the spider too."

"That's not good," Vanitas muttered. "C'mon, Sora! Let's free our prisoner!"

"Free the spider!" Sora exclaimed, carefully moving so the spider wouldn't fall off his hand.

The boys left the room, chattering.

Axel and I stood up to help Kairi clean off the table.

"Thanks, guys," she said. "I'll take it over from here."

"You sure, Kairi?" Axel said, nudging his sister. "Better make yourself pretty for mister Unicorn over there."

"Shut up," Kairi said, a little bit of venom in her voice as she spoke much softer after that. "You know why I agreed to go out with him."

"Yeah, yeah, excuses," Axel chuckled. "To stop him from whining about it, right?"

"That's right," Kairi huffed, pouring warm water while she searched for the soap. "Hopefully he can last on tonight for a few months, so he'll stop bothering me about it."

"So you don't really like him?" I murmured to her, hearing Riku walk through the living room.

Kairi hesitated. "He's nice and he helps a lot," she said thoughtfully. "He's very understanding and that's something I miss, you know…" She gave me a look. "I'm seventeen, but to others, I seem much older. It's hard for me to maintain contacts of my own age because they don't have kids to take care of or a household to run. Riku understands that."

Axel rolled his eyes behind her back as he grabbed towels and threw one to me.

"So, that's all? You don't like him more than a friend?" I continued as she started washing a plate.

"I don't know," she said, her face closing. That was too much information already, I figured.

Riku re-entered the kitchen. "I'll take over, Kairi," he said to her, taking the plate over and the dish brush.

"Thanks, Riku," she said, standing on her tip-toes to give him a small peck on the cheek. "I'll be right back."

I felt my eye twitch a little, but I snapped out of it. I had no idea what was happening and why I was reacting this way.

"So, Roxas, do you like it around here? Hard to tell right, with the two terrors," Riku said jokingly to me.

"I don't consider them as terrors," I said indignant. "I think they're just being kids."

"You don't consider them as terrors yet," Riku said grinning. "You will. Soon enough."

"They can be bad," Axel admitted, smirking a little. "But they just hate you, Riku."

"Shut up, Axel," Riku said, nudging Axel's side. "They will start to like me when they're older."

"Sure thing," I said, snorting a little.

"Well, I think it's nice of Kairi that she invited Roxas over, Axe," Riku said, giving a plate to him. "You know, to keep you company when she's out."

Axel shrugged, not wanting to admit it.

"I think she's just happy that Axel made a real friend again," Riku turned to me. "We're all glad, I think. Axel was pretty lonely."

"So was I," I said, repeating my other friends's phrases to back Axel up. "So I guess we're just being lonely together, because that sucks less."

Axel laughed. "Well said, man. Well said."

Riku grinned as well. "I'm glad. Kairi's glad too."

"Aren't we all a happy bunch?" Axel snorted, grabbing a plate more roughly.

We continued in silence until Kairi returned.

For a moment, I truly, deeply, regretted my choice of letting her go out tonight with Riku.

She wore a simple white dress that went down until a little above her knees, twirling around her upper legs like water would.

It hugged her torso in a tight way and I had a little bit of difficulty looking away from the result of it, until I found out her face was even more beautiful to look at.

She had put up her hair with small strands curling around her face. Her eyes stood out even more, the violet in them more apparent, as she blinked a couple of times and looked down, shy from all the staring.

The moment ended when Riku cleared his throat. "You look beautiful," he said a little bit husky, the creep. (I was glad I didn't have to say anything as my voice would sound just the same.)

"Thanks," Kairi said shyly, folding her hands behind her back, unconsciously making her breasts more apparent and taking Riku's attention down there again.

I chose to look away and continue with the washing-up with Axel, who was clearly annoyed. He had a reason, as he was the older brother.

"Are you all ready?" Her voice said, shaking a little.

"I'm all set to go. Did you say goodnight to the twins?"

"I did," Kairi said in a voice that made it seem that there was no doubting that. "Let's go then. Axel, Roxas, thanks for filling in for us tonight," she said as we both turned to her.

She was practically radiant when she smiled at us.

"No problem, sis," Axel said. "Have fun."

I nodded in agreement. "Have fun guys. Thanks for having me over tonight."

"You're welcome," Riku said, while walking up to Kairi's side, his arm around her waist. "See you tonight, guys."

"See you tonight," Axel and I said in unison.

They left and I knew I was staring, a dripping plate in my hand.

"Oi, Blondie," I felt Axel nudge me. "I know you're checking my sister out, but my hand is aching to kill you in GTA."

"I was not checking your sister out, moron," I grumbled, turning back. "Let's give that honor to mister Unicorn."

Axel laughed. "Nice nickname, eh?"

"You're on a roll, even though I don't like Blondie."

"Did you really think Riku liked the name Unicorn?" Axel chuckled. "I did it once and never again in his face, anyway."

I laughed as we finished the chore. "All right, let's check on the twins and load the guns," Axel declared as he strode out the kitchen, me following suit.

-x-x-x-x

Everything went along the big plan; we played a little GTA, but the twins found out we were playing a game, so they wanted to join us.

We put up Mario Kart and it actually went great. The twins were having fun, even though they were bad, we had fun as well and we sometimes let the twins win.

But then, it was nine o'clock and the twins had to go to bed.

And that was something they didn't quite enjoy.

"Okay, Sora, Vanitas, listen up," Axel said as he shut down the TV. "It's bedtime."

"No!" Vanitas growled, running up to the screen. "Why is it out? Get it back! Get it back! I was winning!"

"I don't want bedtime," Sora pouted. "Mommy is not going to read us a story."

"I will read you a story," Axel proposed, hope shining on his face.

"No," Sora simply said as Vanitas tugged at my sleeve.

"Roxy will read us a story," Vanitas said sharply, tugging a little harder.

"No, Roxy, uh, I mean, Roxas can't read you a story, Van," Axel began, but I laughed. "No, really, Axel, I will read them a story. But only," I added sternly, looking at the stubborn boy at my feet. "But only if you will go to sleep after that."

"No," Vanitas said. As if it was a sign, both the boys ran off, cheering.

"Oh, God," Axel groaned. "There we go again."

"C'mon, let's retrieve them," I said, a strange rush of adrenaline in my veins.

"They always split up," Axel said thoughtfully, running to the stairs with me on his heels. "You take this floor, I will take the first. If I drive them down, you get them, all right?"

"Yes, sir."

We split ways like Axel said, and I immediately heard rummaging upstairs.

"WHERE ARE YOU?!" Axel bellowed. "Get back here, Sora! I saw you!"

I heard some screaming and loud bangs on the floor above me.

"Stop running away, Vanitas! I saw you too!"

I then saw a small figure run down the stairs and I hid behind the door of the kitchen.

It was Sora, who tried to escape Axel's wrath, but he hadn't counted on me.

"Gotcha," I said, wrapping my hands around the small figure and pulled it close so he could not wriggle free.

"Noooo! Roxy! Nooooo!" Sora started to wail and started to try to wiggle himself free. "Let go! Lemme go!"

"AHA!" I heard upstairs and I figured Axel had caught Vanitas. "Ouch! Shit, Van!"

"Oooh! You said the word! You said the word!" Vanitas chanted loudly.

Sora had taken the advantage of me being slightly distracted and pried my fingers off him and when that didn't help, he bit in my hand.

"Fu-" I bit back the rest of the word as I let him go, resulting in him running away. I studied the stingy bite marks and rubbed on them. "Sora, get back here!" I called, following him into the living room.

"You'll never catch me!" Sora sung as he stood on the couch, sticking his tongue at me.

"Wanna bet?" I said, making a run for it.

"Noooo!" Sora cried, running away again. That damn brat was faster than I thought!

Sora got back upstairs and I followed him, bumping into Axel as I did.

"Oh, hey Roxas!" Axel panted. "How're we holding up?"

"Not good," I muttered.

Just then, Vanitas's face appeared behind a door and Axel dived forward.

I caught a glimpse of spiky brown hair in the corner of my eye.

"There you are!" I said, jumping towards the small boy.

"Vani! Vanitas!" Sora called out. "I've been caught!"

"Hold up, Sora!" His brother said. "I'll come to rescue you!"

Suddenly someone grabbed my leg and I lost my balance and fell right onto the floor.

"Oof!" I breathed, catching myself with my hands. "Hey, you!"

Vanitas let go immediately and dashed away from me, Axel reappearing behind a door. "Vanitas! You just tackled someone! Get back here and apologize!"

"I'm so sorry," Vanitas chanted from downstairs. "I'm ever so much very much sorry!"

I got on my feet again and rubbed my sore palms. "Now what?"

"I say we bring out the big guns," Axel said determined. "Let's hide and then wait until they come to search for us."

"Will that work?" I asked, disbelief clear in my voice.

Axel nodded quickly. "Yes, they think this is a game. But it's not. We'll show them."

"All right, captain," I said, grinning. "Let's find a hiding spot." 

I ran into the first room I saw and closed the door. It smelled nice.

I hid behind a big piece of furniture, a closet, probably.

For a few moments, I was sure Axel was wrong, I didn't hear anything, but finally, I heard light footsteps in front of the door.

"Are you sure there's no one there?" Sora whispered.

"Pretty much," Vanitas murmured back. "But this door is closed. Maybe Axy's here?"

The door slowly opened, creaking softly.

The footsteps came closer, I heard the two slowly approach me, but I held my breath.

Timing was essential here.

And then they were right in front of me in the dim lighted room, but staring in the wrong direction.

I quickly struck before they had time to turn around.

They screamed as I embraced both of them at the same time.

"Axel! I got them!"

"Let us go!" The twins screamed in unison, wriggling like crazy, giving me a hard time holding them.

Axel came running up the stairs and came to my aid.

He took Vanitas over (as he later explained: Vanitas was the more aggressive one of the two.) and gave me a triumphant look.

"All right, now let's get them ready!"

"Nooooo!" Sora wailed. "I want my mommy!"

I picked him up and made sure his sharp teeth were far away from my skin.

We had proceeded to get the two in their room and Axel closed the door with his foot, as I barricaded it with a chair.

We let the two go, but they had nowhere to run to.

"You are stupid," Vanitas snapped. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

Sora crossed his arms and huffed as he repeated his brother. "STUPID!"

Axel got their pyjama's and grabbed Vanitas as he tossed me the other pyjama. "Here you go, partner!"

"Come on, Sora," I tried to say friendly, but my hand still kind of hurt. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

His eyes welled up with tears. "I want mommy."

I sighed a little as Vanitas started to yell at Axel. "Come here," I said as I opened my arms. "I can't be your mommy, but I'll read you a story, okay?"

He pouted a little and sniffled, but then he wrapped his tiny arms around me and pressed his face into my shirt.

Vanitas and Axel were now engaged in a dance in which Vanitas tried to run around to escape and Axel's arms were everywhere in order to catch him.

I rubbed Sora's back until the toddler was calm again.

"Let's get you in your pyjama," I said as cheerful as I could.

"Can I hug you again?" Sora asked as he nodded.

"Sure," I said, smiling honestly. "But after you're in pyjama's."

"Okay," the toddler said, grinning widely.

I undressed Sora carefully. This was something I had never done before and I was afraid to break his arm or anything like that.

Sora however was being very kind to help me as much as possible and did most of the work himself, where Axel was almost fighting to get Vanitas's shirt off.

After we were done, he led me by the hand to his bed, thumb in his mouth.

He then gestured for me to pick him up and I lifted him into his bed and pulled a chair next to it.

He then gave me another hug and gave me the book he wanted to read.

"There we go," I said as I opened the book with him leaning into my side, looking at the colorful pages.

Vanitas paused his fight with Axel to look at us. "I want the story too!" He wailed, shaking Axel's arm.

"Then get dressed!" Axel bellowed.

Vanitas finally surrendered and Axel sighed in relief as he dressed his little brother.

Just when he was finished, Vanitas clambered up the chair to sit on my lap and stuck his thumb in his mouth as well.

Axel just laid flat on the floor and closed his eyes with a tired sigh.

"Once upon a time," I began. "There was this beautiful fish in the depths of the sea. Her scales were so sparkly that the fish looked like a swimming rainbow."

Sora took out the thumb and looked up with me. "She's really pretty, isn't she?"

"The fish is amazing," I told Sora. "Look at that! All those sparkles."

"Aren't the other fish jealous?" Vanitas added, touching the page of the book, as if he wanted to touch the fish.

"They probably want the scales too!" Sora gasped. "Oh no!"

I turned the page. "Let's find out!" I said in a hushed voice, to add a little tension to the story.

"The fish was so beautiful, that all the other fish wanted to be friends with her. But the fish wasn't nice; she didn't need any friends. The other fish were very sad."

"Oh no," Sora said sadly. "What a bad fish."

"She shall be punished," Vanitas said in agreement.

"But then the beautiful fish got lost. She couldn't find her way home. She was very alone and then it got dark… and darker… until her scales lost their sparkle and were just plain scales."

"What will she do?" Sora gasped. "This is terrible!"

Vanitas shook his head. "This is lesson, Sora," the boy pointed out. "She was not nice, so now she is alone."

Sora huffed. "But alone is not fun. Let's help the fish!"

"All right then," Vanitas answered, easily convinced. "Let's help the pretty fish!"

They both turned the page and seemed to be assured that would help the fish. I couldn't help but smile.

"Then a big fish found her, crying behind a stone. 'Hello, pretty fish,' the bigger one said. 'Are you lost?' The pretty fish was so happy that she cried more. 'Please help me find my way, I miss my home!'"

"You will find your home, fishy!" Sora exclaimed. "Big fishy will help for sure!"

"Or he wants to eat her!" Vanitas gasped. "That's not nice of the fish!"

"The big fish said: 'I will help you, but I need a beautiful scale of yours, so I can light the way for you.' The pretty fish didn't want to give away her beauty, so she said: 'No, I will find my own way.'"

"That's dumb," Vanitas said. "She doesn't know the way."

"The pretty fish was lost for ages. She was afraid and felt alone. But then she found the big fish again. 'Please, take one of my scales,' she said. 'Lead me the way, because I can not do this alone.'"

"Jay!" Sora said happily, clapping in his hands. "Now she will be rescued!"

"The big fish led her home, where all the other fish were. They were all glad to see her again and the pretty fish said: 'I'm so happy I'm back, I'll give every one of you a scale!'"

"Oh Gosh," Sora gasped. "But then the fish will no longer be pretty!"

"All the fish had a beautiful scale and the sea shimmered with all the beauty. And the pretty fish; she kept one for herself so she could shine along with all her friends. She lived happily ever after!"

Vanitas clapped in his hands. "She's rescued!"

Sora sighed contently. "We did it, Vanitas!"

I caught Vanitas yawning. "C'mon, let's go to sleep!" I said cheerfully. "Tomorrow you can play again!"

Axel stood up, taking Vanitas to his bed while I tucked Sora in.

"Sleep tight Sora!" I said, leaning down to give the boy a kiss on his forehead. He was just too cute.

"Sleep tight, Roxy," the boy answered, hugging his stuffed bear and closing his eyes.

"I want a goodnight kiss from Roxy too!" Vanitas protested when Axel tried to put him down.

"Well, then, here I am," I said, moving over to Vanitas's bed on the other side of the room.

"Good night, Vanitas," I chuckled while tucking him in.

"Good night, Roxy. Will you be back tomorrow?" Vanitas asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Sure, why not?" I said, unable to say 'no' to this cute boy, even though he had been a real terror a few moments ago.

Vanitas beamed. "Play with us then?"

"Sure!" I leaned in to give him the promised kiss on the head. "Sleep tight!"

Axel and I walked out the room in a stealthy manner, turning the lights off.

We didn't say anything until we were downstairs and fell down on the couch in the living room.

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Tuck me in, man. I'm tired."

"Why don't you tuck me in?" I replied, closing my eyes. "Oh boy, I could sleep right here and now. I feel for you, man."

"They like you," Axel stated. "I don't know how you do it, but they really like you."

"Sora did bite me, though," I said, showing my friend the bite marks.

"They bite me too," Axel chuckled. "They don't bite Kairi, but that's different, apparently."

"Ah, well," I said, folding my arms behind my head. "Mission accomplished."

"You up for Call of Duty?"

"Why do I feel like I've already played it just now?" I groaned, rubbing my face. "How late is it?"

"It's eleven o'clock," Axel yawned. "We've been busy for two hours straight, man."

"Oh my God," I murmured. "Let's not tell Kairi that."

"Let's not," Axel agreed. "Are you really coming back tomorrow?"

"I promised, didn't I?"

"You did, you did," Axel said smiling. "Geez, you do stalk me a lot."

"Shut up, moron," I said laughing.

We sighed, both of us leaning into the soft couch.

Then the front door opened and light footsteps neared the living room.

"Axel?"

"Yo," he grumbled, draping an arm over his face.

"Oh, hello, Roxas!" Kairi said as she came in the room, her cheeks slightly flushed and her high heels in her hand. Her feet must hurt.

"How was it tonight?" I asked.

"It was nice," she said. "He's more relaxed when he's not with the kids. I came back early though, how are they doing?"

"They're sleeping safe and sound," Axel said, sitting up to look at his sister. "They're incredibly fond of Roxas," he added, nudging me.

"I'm glad," Kairi said, rubbing her neck. "They're not that fond of Riku and I'd hate it when they'd give your friends a hard time as well."

"Yeah, then I would've to date them as well to keep them satisfied," Axel said teasingly, earning a whack against the head.

"I'm not dating him, you fool," she said, raising a brow. "I just went out with him once."

"Well, I have to engage in a make-out session here," Axel said seriously. "The twins were rough on my friend, so I'll have to compensate."

"Oh, you're terrible," Kairi said, frowning, but biting back a smile. "But if you want a hot, steamy session with Roxas, you're free to go, though."

"Oi," I said, raising my brow at her. "You were my last backup, Kairi!"

"I'm sorry, Roxy," She said smiling. "But I gotta go. Have fun with Axy!"

"Do not touch me," I warned Axel as soon as she was gone. "I had no idea how serious you are, but do not come near."

"Shut up, I'll shoot your sorry excuse for an ass if you don't put on Call of Duty man," Axel said laughing, but stood up himself to start the system.

"Let's really bring in the big guns," I said laughing while taking a controller.

I was really glad I could come back here today.

I truly felt alive.


	6. Home Sweet Home

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Six<br>Home Sweet Home**_

* * *

><p>Well, that was unexpected.<p>

„Roxy!"

My boss, Seiffer, blinked twice behind the counter, his eyes wide as he stared at the toddler now clinging to my leg.

„Vanitas! We found Roxy!"

The black haired toddler joined his brother. „Roxy!"

„So, hey, Roxas," Hayner snickered. „What's up with the kids?"

„Oi, Van, Sora, let Roxas go," Axel said sternly. „Hello, Roxas!"

The kids let me go and looked up at me, grinning widely.

„Hey, Axel," I greeted him and I bend through my knees to ruffle through their hair. „Hello Vanitas and hello Sora!"

„Hello Roxy!" they both said in unison before they started to look around.

Seiffer moved up to us, wringing his hands uncomfortably. „Um, I'm sorry to interrupt your little chat, but are you sure you can handle the kids here?"

Axel raised his brow. „Of course I can, I know them longer than to-No, Vanitas! Put that down!"

Vanitas had an expensive copy in his hand of a hand-signed CD of Robbie Williams and was shaking it to hear if anything was inside.

Seiffer nearly got a stroke as he rushed up to Vanitas's side to rescue the CD from the toddler's killer hands. „Don't touch anything!" he barked at the little boy.

Vanitas stuck out his tongue at him before hurrying towards his older brother to hide behind him.

„Vanitas, don't be rude," Axel said, sounding exhausted. „Tell the man you're sorry."

Seiffer put back the Robbie Williams CD with careful, steady hands. „Damn brats," he grumbled softly.

„Sorry," Vanitas squeaked.

Seiffer didn't say anything, he just shot Axel a dirty glare before marching into the storage chamber.

„Well," I said thoughtfully while opening the box I had just taken from the storage room before Axel walked in. „That was not so unexpected."

Axel sighed. „I had to take the kids out for a walk, they were so restless and that damn Riku was nowhere to be found."

„I see," I said, watching Sora, who was staring at a big poster of Kirby, thumb in his mouth.

„Kairi had to work again, so it was my turn with the kids. I just can't seem to get them under control. I think I've crossed a line with pitting them against Riku," he snickered. „Now they don't respect me as well."

„You've pitted them against Riku?" I said, laughing. „So that's why they always seem to pick him as their victim?"

„Ah, well," Axel scratched his head as he picked up Vanitas, who was just about to bang his little fists against a rack with DVD's. „They didn't like him in the first place. Neither did I, so I thought it'd be okay to tease him a little bit. Never expected him to last this long, though."

He helped me putting up new games on the higher shelves as he was taller as I was.

„Thanks," I said, folding the box so it fit under my arm. „If you can wait a second, I can finish up. Hayner will take it over from me from twelve o'clock."

„Sweet," Axel said, nodding as he grabbed Sora, who'd decided it was time to rip Kirby's poster because he couldn't reach the star above Kirby's head.

A woman in the back of the shop looked up as Axel tried to talk reason into the frustrated toddler.

„How adorable," she muttered as Vanitas pulled on Axel's hair to get his attention to a huge UFO painted on the ceiling and Sora was throwing a tantrum because he wanted to eat Kirby's star because it looked like a paopu fruit and it must be eaten.

„HOW ARE WE EVEN RELATED?" Axel cried out in despair. „HOW ARE YOU EVEN BROTHERS OF MINE?"

The woman in the back of the shop just laughed.

* * *

><p>„I'm home!"<p>

„Yello," Axel roared from the couch, not even bothering to pause our game.

Kairi emerged from the hallway and she smiled widely at us. „Oh, hello, Roxas," she said cheerfully. „You're back again?"

„Seems like I am," I said, the twins at our feet as we were playing Mario Kart again.

„Mommy! Join us! Come play with us!" the twins abandoned the game to drag Kairi in.

Axel snickered as Kairi looked a bit torn. „I can't, sweetie, I have to cook, so I can't play a game right now."

„Come on, Kairi," I said teasefully. „We can all help making dinner later!"

„Besides," Axel added mischievously. „If you don't play with us, they're both going to throw a tantrum and then there's nothing to stop them."

Kairi made a face as she sat down between us, taking the twins on her lap. „All right, I'll play a few rounds with you," she grumbled. „But after that, I'm going to make dinner."

The few rounds actually ended up in quite a lot; it was now half past seven o'clock and there were still no preparations made for dinner.

Vanitas let go of his controller, causing Wario to drive straight into a wall, and grabbed his sister's sleeve. „Mommy, I'm hungry," he complained, pointing to his belly.

„Oh no," Kairi gasped. „It's way too late already."

She stood up and put the twins down on the floor. „It'll take forever if I have to fix you guys something big…" she mumbled, fingers tapping her lip rapidly as she thought. „Okay," she said a bit louder, clasping her hands together. „I know something!" She leant down to the twins with a mischievous grin. „Let's make pancakes!"

The twins started to cheer as they followed her into the kitchen as Axel quit the game. „Are you staying, Roxas?" Axel nudged me in the ribs. „Can't miss out on the pancakes, eh?"

„If it's not a problem," I said hesitating, but Axel already turned. „Kairi! Roxas's joining us for dinner!"

„Okay!" She responded, popping her head around to corner to dazzle us with one of her smiles. „I'm on it!"

„Do you need help?" Axel said, already professionally putting in the disk of a shooting game while adjusting the volume to a lower kind.

„No, no, I'm fine," she chanted, her voice far-away as the noise in the kitchen increased. „Sora and Vanitas are helping me!"

Axel tossed the other controllers onto the floor as he sat a little bit broader. „Ah, space," he said contently. „Now, Roxas, this is for Rainbow Road, sucker!"

I snickered. „You're just so bad that even the twins kick your ass," I stated with a grin. „But don't worry, you'll be dead before you know what's coming for you."

Axel and I took our battle stances and let out our battle cries. „GAME ON!"

* * *

><p>„Really, thanks a lot for having me again, tonight," I said, feeling a bit guilty.<p>

Kairi shook her head. „No, really, it's okay," she said smiling. „I think it's great Axel has found a nice friend and everyone likes it when you're around," she said, winking as the twins were still wrapped around my legs, causing me to have difficulty to move.

I felt that weird tingly sensation again in my stomach, even though it was less than before. I think it was because there were two loud, noisy kids tearing my jeans to shreds.

„Oi, Sora, Vanitas," I said laughing, looking down at them. „I can't walk home in my underwear, now can I?"

They started to laugh and tried to climb up my leg further, but I started to pry them off.

Kairi giggled. „I know they can be terrible," she said tenderly while taking Sora over as I started on getting Vanitas off, who was a little bit more persistent. „But they're good kids. I think I'm just too soft on them."

„I think you're great," I said a little bit too quickly. „I mean at parenting," I added, waving my hands a little as my cheeks started to heat up in embarrassment. „Not that you're not, I mean, just never mind," I sighed as Kairi's smile grew wider, raising one of her brows. „I think you're doing very well, considering the fact that you're not even an adult yourself."

„Thanks," she said, her face warm and open. „I think you're a good friend of this family," she added a bit more serious as I picked up Vanitas, who started to toy with my hair. „Even though we barely know you. It's just… Axel had this feeling about you and I think he got that right," she laughed. „You're always welcome in our home."

I noticed a faint blush on her cheeks and it would've made me flush as well, but Vanitas was tugging too hard on my hair. „Oi, Vanitas, that's still part of my head!"

Vanitas laughed. „That's why it needs to come off!" he chanted cheerfully. „It'll be our new treasure!"

„That's creepy," I shuddered. „Here," I said, taking him off my arm and putting him carefully on the ground. „When I come back next time, I'll bring a good treasure, okay?"

„Really?" Sora said as Axel came back from his trip to the bathroom. „You'll bring us a treasure?"

„Yep," I said, winking. „It'll be very cool, so look forward to it!"

Axel smirked at me. „Will you get me something too, while you're at it?"

„Nope," I said, turning to open the door and grinned at him. „Thanks for everything again, Axe."

„You're welcome," he said as Kairi waved, leaving the hallway to do the dishes while the twins followed her.

„You know," he said, looking at the twilight sky above him. „I'm surprised. It actually feels like I've known you for years."

„Same goes for me," I said, rubbing my neck. „But I do feel guilty. I promise that I'll invite all of you to join dinner at my place."

„You don't have to feel guilty, man," Axel said, nudging me. „But hey, who am I to refuse dinner?"

I laughed. "Just thanks for letting me stay again."

„Anytime," he grinned widely. „Home sweet home, as they say."

„Just so you know," I said before turning around. „You're always welcome at my place as well, whenever you feel like it's too much. You can take the twins along, even Kairi and Riku too."

Axel didn't say anything, he just kept smiling as he raised his hand.

This family was definitely something different.

I was very good friends with Hayner, Pence and Olette, but Axel was like the brother I never had, instead of just a friend. Or just a good friend.

But I wasn't quite sure what to make of Kairi.

There was something about her that I did want to discover, but I wasn't sure if I should be getting to that so soon. If I should be the one to discover anything about her.

But one thing was for sure: she made the concept of ‚Home, sweet home' come to life more than I could ever have imagined.

Because I really felt at home with her. With all of them.

* * *

><p><strong>(author's note)<strong>

**Hello there! Once more! **

**I'm sorry about the little messy lay out from the past two chapters. I was a little too enthusiastic with posting it online, I guess. **

**Well, thanks for all of you who have ‚viewed' my story… I'm following you, indeed. (That's not creepy at all). Feel free to leave a review :) **

**Special thanks to the twelve followers the story has gathered so far. Especially thanks if you've been following this since 2012. I owe you a big time. **

**So, that's all the rambling stuff I wanted to tell you guys. **

**Until next time! **

**Lots of love,**

**Your author**


	7. Boys Night

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Seven<br>Boys night**_

* * *

><p>„Come on, Axel," I tried to persuade my friend. „I can pick you up after your work, it's no big deal."<p>

„I dunno, Roxas," he mumbled, hesitating. „It's with your friends and all…"

„Well, you're my friend too, aren't you?" I said fiercely. „I've asked the others and they're fine with it."

„Roxas, you can just go on without me," he said friendly. „You don't need to feel as if you're obliged to-"

"If I didn't want you there, I wouldn't have asked you," I said calmly through the phone. "I'll pick you up at four, we'll be there at half past four and we'll have a great time. Period."

"All right, all right," Axel laughed. "If you insist." I could hear the smile in his voice.

Now that he was really sure that I had no objections together with Hayner and Pence, he sounded like he was looking forward to boys night as well.

"See you at four PM sharp," I said cheerfully.

'Boys night' had been an old tradition, introduced by Hayner when Olette befriended us.

It was rather childish, but Hayner was persuasive and Pence and I too young.

Hayner thought that Olette's influence was too big for us to remain manly.

To prevent us from becoming feminine guys, we had to organize boys night every once in a while to stay manly and more importantly: cool.

Now, ten years later, we still had those nights once a month, but rather to stay in contact with each other, especially with Hayner.

He had less time for us because he had his work, his school and his girlfriend and his family (and hers), so his schedule didn't allow us to see him much.

Even Pence was quite busy; he had his photography thing going on and he was always looking for new, creative ways to catch the world around him.

Olette, even though she never went to boys night because it was, obviously, a boy thing, was hard-working as well. She wanted to be an accountant and was always trying to make contact with big companies, hoping one of them would grant her another course to follow to add more experience to her study.

Now there was Axel as well; selling shoes at the shoe store, coming home to a household he had to take care of together with his sister.

And there was me. I had taken a year off school, deciding to work to earn money for a study.

I just wasn't as busy as everyone else, until now.

But as I stared out of the window of the store, I was sure I didn't want to end up here. I could still enroll for a study next year. I would be a year older than everyone else. I would be late.

But not too late yet.

* * *

><p>"You're early," Axel said as he pulled on his coat, closing the door of the shoe store behind him.<p>

"No, you're just late," I stated, looking at my watch. "It was four PM sharp five minutes ago."

Axel laughed, shrugging. "Sure, sure, whatever, Blondie," he said, nudging me when he saw me frown at that stupid nickname. "It's not like they can start without us, can they?"

I shook my head while we started walking. "It's not really a matter of starting, really. It's just hanging out, we're not really… going out or anything."

"I know," Axel said, grinning widely. "It's at Hayner's place right?"

"Yeah," I said, rubbing my neck. "That means it's not really boys night; Olette will be there too."

"That's okay," he responded quickly. "I know Olette; she's friends with Kairi."

"That's true," I murmured. "Kinda strange; I've known Olette for years, but I've never seen Kairi before."

He hummed a little. "It's just how things go. Sometimes different lives get intertwined, sometimes they remain parallel, each living its own life. I think it's more interesting when they become intertwined."

"You've known Hayner too, right?"

"Yeah," Axel said easily. "He's a good kid."

"You've never tried to befriend him before," I said, putting my hands in my pockets as we moved past the Clock Tower. "And here you are: going to boys night at Hayner's place."

He shrugged. "I had my own friends back then. Making new friends seemed a little irrelevant."

Axel ruffled a hand through his hair, a little frown on his face.

"But sometimes, you know, even the best of friends can drift apart. I thought I didn't need any; I had my hands full with my family."

"Until a couple of days ago," I stated.

He nodded, smirking. "I don't know. I just felt like visiting that place. I've come a long way from that forsaken day, but there was still something missing. And there you were."

"So, just because I was there at that time made you think: 'Great! Let's befriend that loser!'" I said a little jokingly, grinning at him.

"No, no," he laughed. "Okay, maybe a little. You just seemed alone. As alone as I felt, even though I have siblings I truly love and who take up all of my energy."

"I was, I think," I said, as we had reached Hayner's place. "Even though I had friends I saw on a regular basis."

I knocked on the door and I leaned against the frame. "I think I needed to be involved in someone else's life to realize I should start my own life."

Axel chuckled. "You sure are a noisy person, indeed."

"Oh, shut up," I grumbled. "I didn't mean it like that."

Hayner opened the door with a wide grin. "Hello, hello!" he gestured inside. "Come in, come in!"

"It smells good," I said, sniffing a little.

"I would love to tell you that it's my lovely girlfriend who makes your nose orgasm like that, but sadly, it's Pence's work," Hayner said laughing. "Let's go up!"

Hayner had lived in a small apartment with Olette for quite a while now, meaning he shared the building with more and that he lived on the third floor.

He was just glad he escaped his own home, where his parents were still fighting.

"Hello, Roxas! Hello, Axel," Olette greeted us in their living room. "Can I get you guys something to drink before I head out?"

"You're not staying?" I asked, returning her hug before she went to give Axel one, who seemed a little surprised.

"No, no," Olette said, waving her hans. "It's boys night, after all!"

"We don't mind if you stay," Axel said lightly. "You can pretend you're a guy, right?"

"Oh, no," Olette said laughing. "I have a 'girls night' to attend, so really, I have to go."

She walked us to the kitchen, where Pence was rummaging through spices and vegetables, muttering in himself.

"Roxas! Axel!" He said cheerfully as he saw us entering. "It's great you could come!"

"Of course," I said, winking at Axel, who seemed to relax at the enthusiastic responses from my friends.

He continued with his search for a kind of chili pepper as Olette brought us our sodas.

"All right, guys, have fun!" she said, before stealing a kiss from Hayner. "See you tonight, babe," Hayner said, patting his girlfriend on her lower back as she hurried to the front door.

"Until tonight," she said happily before shutting the door.

We sat down together and Hayner leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I figured if I let Pence cook, you might want to come back again, Axel," he said jokingly. "My cooking skills are horrible and to be honest, Olette ain't as good as Pence."

"You should've dated him instead," I said laughing. "Although you would've become fat, I guess."

"Now I can stay toned," Hayner said, flexing his arm. "No, but really, I can guarantee you, Axel, this will be the best meal you've ever had!"

"Well, I don't know, really," I said thoughtfully, looking at Axel. "His sister is amazing with food!"

Axel laughed. "But I can guarantee you I can always pretend it's the best meal I've ever had."

Hayner grinned. "Next time we'll meet up at your place then," he said, crossing his arms. "Because if you let Roxas try to cook, the apocalypse will begin."

"Oh, shut up, Hayner," I grumbled. "I just let the toast burn once. ONCE!"

"Dinner's ready!" Pence shouted and we all hurried back to the kitchen to grab a plate.

* * *

><p>"I sure am full," Pence sighed, rubbing his belly. "I always eat too much."<p>

We had finished dinner and Hayner had us covered with drinks.

"You can say that again," Hayner grinned. "You haven't changed for one bit, Pence."

"Well, you certainly have," Pence remarked, leaning back into the couch, sitting next to Axel, who followed his example. "Look at you: you've already settled down with your girlfriend, working and learning while going to family dinners and all that stuff."

"I wouldn't really call myself 'settled'," Hayner said thoughtfully, rubbing the back of his neck. "But that brings me to something I wanted to tell you guys."

"And that is?" Axel said, taking a sip from his drink.

"I'll be moving very soon," he said proudly.

"Again?" Pence asked, surprised. "And where are you going?"

"Did I ever tell you that Twilight Town is just a dull place if you want to do something in this world?" Hayner said, folding his arms behind his head.

"More than once," I said, smirking.

"Well, I want to do something in this world, and so does Olette. Besides, my parents are going to divorce, after all those years, and I just want to get away from here," Hayner continued.

"They are going to divorce?" Axel mumbled. "I'm sorry for you."

"It's more of a relief," Hayner admitted sheepishly. "I have always known my parents wouldn't last and this is just… finally there's peace. It actually feels good to see them both happy, even though it is not together."

There was a short pause, after which Hayner cleared his throat. "Anyway," he said, smiling. "I'm not moving away because of that, but it's one of the many many reasons. I'm going to buy a house together with Olette in Radiant Garden!"

"Congratulations!" we all exclaimed.

"That's a hell of a ride away from here," Pence stated.

"True," Hayner admitted, smirking. "But the entire city is alive, Pence! It's breathing, it's moving. It's refreshing!"

"I can imagine this place feels a little dusty," Axel snickered.

"Have you already set your mind on a certain house?" I asked.

"Kind of," Hayner said, smiling. "But we're still a lot of munny short."

"Of course," Pence said dryly. "Seiffer's not going to raise your salary when he hears you're going to leave."

"That's probably true," Hayner said laughing. "The sore bastard. No, but really, both my parents and Olette's parents have given us a huge gift and Olette has got a part time job at a huge office in Radiant Garden and they are no misers."

"Nice going," Axel whistled. "You're very lucky."

"I am," Hayner said truthfully. "I really am."

"We're going to miss you, man," Pence said, sighing.

"Obviously," Hayner said lightly, even though his face fell a little. "I'm going to miss you guys, too. But hey, come visit as often as possible!"

"Sure," I said. "Just let us know when exactly you'll be moving, okay?"

"I will," Hayner said, grinning widely. "Even though I feel bad about asking you for your help again, since you helped out with our apartment as well."

"Don't sweat it," Pence said, stretching his arms. "You'll be there for us too, right?"

"Yeah," Axel said, laughing. "I need someone to paint our front door again, Hayner."

"I think my room would look incredible with a new flooring," I chuckled. "You'd better be there, Hayner!"

"You're horrible," Hayner said, pouting. "But all right, it's true. If you really want me to 'help' with that, I'll be glad to repay the favor."

Pence bent forward to grab a cupcake from the table. "What's this?"

"A cupcake, Pence," I stated dryly.

"But what are those weird things on it?"

Hayner shrugged. "They're probably supposed to be hearts or something. Just eat up and tell Olette you loved them, all right?"

"Or else?" Pence snickered.

"Or else I will personally murder you and bury you in my new yard," Hayner responded with a grin. "Don't worry, I'll make it look like an accident."

"You're one hell of a sour bastard, idiot," Pence said, sighing. "All right, I'll eat them and tell her I loved them. I don't want to become a 'Pence'-tree in your backyard, you know."

* * *

><p>We spend a good amount of time playing videogames, laughing at both Hayner and Axel, who tried to beat each other to become number one while I battled with Pence for the last place.<p>

Hayner showed us pictures of the house he and Olette had in mind and we talked about Pence's new photo camera and the jobs he was doing right now.

We were talking about coincidence, about me meeting Axel and about Axel's life.

He kept things light, kept talking about how he missed those tournaments in which he and Hayner often participated and how much kindergarten sucked.

I should've guessed that, after three rounds of Guitar Hero, it was now time to discuss my life.

"So," Hayner said, deliberately slow. "What's up, Roxas?"

"I'm fine," I shrugged. "I'm thinking about going to college next year."

Pence seemed impressed. "Nice going, man. Any idea what you'd like to study?"

"I dunno," I sighed. "It just crossed my mind."

"I think it's a good idea," Hayner said wisely. "But you know what else is a good idea?"

"Well?"

"How about the ladies?" Hayner said, now grinning widely. "Even Pence here has dated women before!"

"Although they only did it because they thought I was going to make models out of them," Pence said, a little disgruntled. "But hey, don't mind that."

Axel laughed and I pouted. "Come on, Hayner, can we please move on to a different subject?"

"Why? Don't you want to share the juicy details?"

"There are NO juicy details," I grumbled. "There is nobody like that."

"That's not what I have heard," Hayner said suggestively.

"What did you hear?" Axel said, smirking. "I'm kind of interested now."

"What about you," I nudged Axel. "You're not dating, either!"

"But I have a certain lady friend that I'd like to date," Axel said with a wink. "So that's out of the question here."

"Somebody told me you've seen a woman wrapped in a towel already. Too bad you were surrounded by kids."

My face instantly flushed as the memory of Kairi barging into the living room became vivid in my mind.

I felt suddenly warm and a little bit tingly. Which was not good in this situation.

"That's not what-! How do you even know?!" I stuttered while Axel burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Pence started hiccuping as Hayner smirked. "Secret inside information, man. It's all in the details."

"Shut up," I snarled, crossing my arms. "It was nothing like that."

"No really," Axel said, wiping tears from his eyes. "If it were, I would've killed him a long while ago."

"Right," Hayner chuckled. "You're her big brother, of course."

"It's Olette, isn't it?" I grumbled. "Great, I knew it. Girls"

"I wasn't supposed to tell, but you know, since two of you already knew," Hayner said laughing. "Kairi told Olette that she was very embarrassed and that she made such a horrible first impression, but I figured you didn't mind that much," he added with a grin.

"I'm not a pervert," I snorted. "It was just an accident."

"It was just an accident," Hayner said soothingly. "But are you telling me you didn't enjoy the view?"

"Oi, that's my sister you're talking about," Axel said sternly, although he laughed at my red cheeks. "Oh God, Roxas, don't even think about it!"

"I wasn't- you just- well, fuck you all," I leaned back into my chair. "Just shut up, all of you."

"I prefer you, you know," Axel said seriously. "If you were interested in Kairi, I'd rather had her fallen in love with you instead of Riku."

"Riku's a dick," Pence said, crossing his arms. "He stole my lunch munny in High School."

"He's still a dick," Axel snorted. "But he helps out and he's nice to Kairi, so I guess I have to allow him in our house."

Hayner rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Never heard of Riku, though. Why'd you never tell, Pence?"

Pence winked. "I was seeing his sister in secret, so I had to keep things silent."

"Seriously?" Axel said, mouth wide open. "You were seeing Xion?"

"I did," he seemed rather proud. "Good times, good times."

I was incredibly glad the subject was off my shoulders and was extremely thankful it didn't land on me again that evening.

But the subject didn't leave my mind, though; Hayner was right.

I had, maybe, been enjoying the view a little too much.

However, I shook the thought from my mind and continued on teasing Pence with his girlfriends.

We stayed until Olette came home and then we said our goodbyes and left.

* * *

><p>That was the first night I dreamt of Kairi.<p> 


	8. Hide and Seek

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eight<br>Hide and Seek**_

* * *

><p>"Roxas? It's for you!" my mom knocked on my door. "It's the videostore!"<p>

I shot up in bed, running a hand through my hair, yawning as she came in, the phone in her hand, one of her hands on the mouthpiece.

I took it over from her as she opened up my curtains and left the room.

"Hello?"

"It's Seiffer," my boss stated dryly. "I called because I decided to roster the new employee in today."

"What?" I was wide awake at once. "A new employee? Since when?"

"Since yesterday," Seiffer said, not really amused. "The store is still growing and I need more hands around here. I can hardly make you and Hayner work all the time, sadly enough, but I have to work him in today. In short, your shift for today is non-existent, all right?"

"Sure, but," I said, getting out of bed. "But how-"

"If you want to work him in, that's fine by me, but not today. Maybe in your shift for this week's Saturday or something."

"Okay," I said, shrugging a little, even though he could not see that. "Well… eh… all right."

"See you Saturday," my boss said before hanging up immediately.

I put away the phone and yawned again, looking at the rain through the window.

That was a lot of free time and nothing much to do.

Ah, well…

* * *

><p>The door opened and immediately there was a toddler attached to my leg again.<p>

"It's Roxy!" Sora bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Oh, hello, Roxas," Kairi said smiling, opening the door further to let me in while I dragged Sora along. "Nice to see you again."

My cheeks started to glow slightly, remembering the conversation from last night and more importantly, my dream from last night.

"Hi," I said, rubbing my neck and trying to pry Sora of my leg. "So, is Axel around?"

"No," Kairi answered as Sora let go of me to put his hand in hers, sticking his tongue at me. "He's at work. I'm afraid he won't be back before dinner," she said, a little bit apologetic. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's okay," I said, waving my hands. "I can wait."

"All right," she said, smiling. "Well… make yourself at home, I would say. Do you want anything to-"

"Aha!" the other toddler had arrived. "It's Roxy!"

Sora joined his brother and whispered something in his ear.

Vanitas nodded enthusiastically and whispered something back before he cleared his throat and straightened up, although it didn't make a great difference.

"We're playing Hide and Seek," he declared.

"Oh, that's nice, sweetie," Kairi said, smiling at the little boy.

"Why aren't you two hiding yet?" Sora crossed his arms and tried a stern look.

"Oh, honey, we're not-"

"I will count to ten!" Vanitas interrupted. "You better hide!"

He turned his back to us, leaning against the doorframe of the living room.

"One!"

Kairi and I looked at each other, both a little horrified.

"Two!"

Sora sneaked into the living room and waved at us.

"Three!"

"Come on," Kairi whispered, grabbing my hand and dragging me along. "We need to get moving!"

"Four!"

"Wait, what? We're really-?" I whispered back as we ran up the stairs.

"Five!"

"Yes!" She hissed. "Find something!"

"Six!"

We separated and I ran straight into the room I had cornered the twins when I had put them to bed with Axel, because there had been a huge closet there.

"Seven!"

I tried to steady my breathing and to lower my heart beat, but the adrenaline and Kairi's warm touch were a bit too much.

"Eight!"

It smelled nice in here. Kinda like… flowers and strawberries?

"Nine!"

The door opened and I froze in horror. He was still counting! He was still counting! He couldn't be here!

"Ten!"

Someone got into the closet as well, breathing sharp and shallow as the door of the closet closed.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Vanitas chanted from downstairs.

"Oh my Go-" Kairi's voice suddenly gave away who had gotten into the same closet as me.

I quickly and carefully put a hand on her mouth.

"Shh," I murmured reasurringly. "It's only me."

She was quiet; I could hear her breathing against my hand as we heard Vanitas downstairs shout excitedly.

"I CAUGHT YOU, SORA!"

Sora started to laugh and both of them were chattering happily.

Kairi's slender fingers slowly went up to remove my hand. "What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"Hiding," I murmured back.

She chuckled softly. "Did you know this was my room?"

Flowers and strawberries.

Right.

Fuck.

* * *

><p>"I didn't," I admitted sheepishly. "This is were I caught them before they had to go to bed, so I dunno, I just-"<p>

Now it were her fingers pressed to my lips as we heard little footsteps on the stairs.

"Where could they be? Where could they be?" Sora chanted, clapping in his hands.

"I think," Vanitas paused for a moment. "I think they are in the… BATHROOM!"

We heard them charge into the bathroom and Kairi's fingers were gone again.

"It doesn't really matter," she mumbled reassuringly. "You just scared me."

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I wasn't really trying to creep up on you or something."

She laughed a little. "Well, it is a very good hiding spot."

We remained silent for a moment when the twins moved around before they finally head downstairs to look for us there.

I sat down and I heard Kairi do the same.

She gently opened the door of the closet a little, so we could see a little bit more.

"That's better," she remarked, her voice softly and barely hearable.

I had no idea what to say. I was very thankful for the fact she couldn't see me all that well.

"You know," she suddenly whispered. "This would be a very uncomfortable position to be in with almost anyone."

"I know," I murmured back.

"But it isn't that uncomfortable with you, surprisingly," she added, smiling a little. "I don't know how you did it, but you won us all over."

"Er… thanks, I guess?" I rubbed my neck, because I was a little uncomfortable.

I never should've had that dream. Now all I could think of was- No!

She hummed, leaning her head against the side of the closet.

"Riku never really could, and he tried harder than you," she said softly.

"What's up with Riku anyways?" I mumbled. "I can't seem to trace his connection to you and Axel."

She laughed again and it made my thoughts swirl. She really had a nice laugh.

"His sister was a friend of mine and I used to come over there when times got rough for me. I think Riku kind of… knew? Anyway, she came over once and Riku came along. She moved away a year ago, but Riku… never left."

"I see," I studied her calm face for a moment. "I can imagine."

She sighed. "Well, I don't think he's staying for the same reasons why you keep coming back," she said honestly. "But until recently, I kind of liked his company."

"Why until recently?" I said, a little surprised.

Her face kind of closed again and she looked at the small ray of light coming into our dark hiding place.

"I don't know if I should tell you, but me and Axel… it's complicated," she breathed. "I love him; he's an amazing brother and he'll always protect our family. But he can be very difficult to live with at times."

She fiddled with her thumbs. "Until recently, Axel had rejected all of his old friends, kept being fired and it's just," she moved a lost strand of her hair behind her ears. "He wasn't all that pleasant at home, when the kids were away, he kept screaming and yelling at me and he was always so angry and… I couldn't calm him down."

She looked down and remained silent for a while.

"What happened recently?" I murmured. "What made it change?"

"I kicked him out," Kairi said, not quite meeting my eyes. "It seems hard, but the kids were there and he called me things… I had to do something. I took him apart and I said that he had to leave. That he could come back if he had calmed down. Truly calmed down. He left without saying a word."

"But he came back, right?" I asked, running a hand through my hair. "All the time I knew Axel, he didn't seem like such a delinquent."

She chuckled a little. "Delinquent is a big word, but yeah. He came back. He had met you in the Town Plaza."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," she said, looking at me. "That was why I was so glad and why I invited you over for dinner. I wanted to make you feel at home so you would come here more often. For Axel's sake."

And that, my friends, is being put in an entire different kind of friend zone.

"I see," I said again, trying to hide my twinge of disappointment that she didn't really wanted me to come over because of herself.

She smiled brightly at me. "But I think I kind of changed that idea," she said lightly, making my heart jump and my stomach flutter again. "Because when you came over, I had a feeling you belonged here. Kind of strange, huh?"

I shrugged. "I really like it here," I said, smiling at her. "Everyone is just so lively."

She hugged her knees. "Yeah," she said tenderly. "You're never truly alone here. Or at least, that is what I thought before Axel turned that way. He did feel alone. But now you're here and everyone is happy again. Alive. That's why I think everyone just feels so comfortable around you," she said softly. "Even the twins. Even they really like you."

'And what about you?' I wanted to ask. 'Do you like me?'

Too soon, too soon.

"I'm glad," I said instead, grinning. "I won't have to expect spiders in my shoes, then."

She smirked. "No, I don't think so, no."

We were silent as the twins came bouncing up the stairs.

"Where could they beee?" Vanitas said dramatically to Sora. "They must be in… our room!"

"No way!" Sora gasped. "They're after our treasure!"

They stormed into their room and Kairi chuckled. "I think we've hidden ourselves too well."

"We've had too much experience in our own childhoods," I stated with a wink, even though I highly doubted she could see it.

"True," she said with a grin. "We're pros at this."

"You should be a pro," I laughed. "You still have to do this every day."

She gave me a warm expression that made my insides melt.

"You know, you could be here every day too if you wanted," she said softly. "I don't think Axel or the twins mind."

"Do you mind?" It slipped before I could hold myself back.

"I don't mind at all," she said, her warm, blue eyes fierce as she looked at me.

Why was she so close right now?

Oh wait, I had made a slight movement towards her.

And I kept moving.

* * *

><p>"Oh, look!" the closet door was suddenly thrown open and we were both blinking against the light, completely frozen.<p>

Vanitas and Sora stood there, both looking smug and proud at the same time.

"We found you!" Sora pointed out, while Vanitas had this strange smirk on his face.

Kairi quickly stood up and moved out of the closet. "Wow, you're really good!"

I stepped out of her closet and smiled a little bit uneasy at the twins. "You caught us!"

"Of course we did," Vanitas said proudly. "But we didn't want to catch you right away," he added even more smugly than before.

"Did you know where we were then?" Kairi said with a smile just when I said a little worried: "Why didn't you catch us before then?"

Sora giggled a little. "It was cute."

Both me and Kairi were now completely horrified as we stared at the twins grinning at us.

"I'm home!" the front door opened downstairs and Axel's voice rang through the hallway, causing the twins to cheer and dash downstairs to greet their brother.

"Let's just pretend that didn't happen," Kairi said to me, her eyes wide and her cheeks a little flushed.

"Agreed," I said quickly, nodding.

Those kids were the most scary things on Earth.

Period.

* * *

><p>It happened, though.<p>

And I could try whatever I wanted, my thoughts kept on going back to that expression of hers, her laughter, her eyes and that Godforsaken dress.

It was all my imagination needed to complete the movement I had started in that closet.

And that was a fantasy that was definitely not cute anymore.


	9. It's War!

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Nine<br>It's War!**_

* * *

><p>It was another rainy day in Twilight Town. We were missing out on our Summer a lot.<p>

Axel had texted me early this morning and I sat back in my chair, reading it over again.

I was a little torn.

One side of me had nothing else to do and coming over seemed like a great plan to spend my Friday.

The other side was afraid it would only increase my little obsession with his sister. Perhaps a day off would be a good idea to cool my head.

But that same obsession made coming over seem even more interesting.

"I'm off," I said to my father a few seconds later as I passed him in our living room.

"To work?" He asked, looking up from his newspaper, his reading glasses sliding down his nose.

"No, to Axel," I said, putting on my sweater. "Have you seen my keys?"

"Are you staying there again for dinner?" My dad asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"No, I don't think so," I said hesitatingly. "I don't know yet. You want me to come back early?"

"If you want to," he shrugged, though he looked hopeful. "Your mother is out with work today, so I thought we might grab dinner together."

"Oh, sure," I said, smiling at him. "I'll be back early, okay?"

"Great," He grinned back at me while shoving his glasses up with his index finger. "I'll make a reservation for six, all right?"

"Got it," I said, while walking into our hallway. "See you later, dad!"

"Have fun, Roxas!"

* * *

><p>"Good, you're here," Axel said relieved as he opened the door. "Listen up, we've got some problems-"<p>

"What happened?" I interrupted, narrowing my eyes as he let me in.

"It's the Terrors," Axel sighed, rubbing his forehead. "They're out of control."

"That's rare," I said, raising my brow as I listened for Kairi's voice. "They do always listen to Kairi… in the end."

"That's true," Axel said, putting his hands on his hips. He did look a little pissed off. "Point is: she's not here."

"Oh," I said flatly, my stomach dropping with disappointment. "That explains a lot."

Silver hair emerged from the kitchen, face red and an angry scowl on his face.

"All right, where are you monsters?!" he huffed, almost stomping his foot. "Get back here!"

I heard giggling from the living room and Riku marched off towards the sound, looking like a bull rather than an eighteen years old adult.

"So, Riku's here for Kairi," Axel snickered. "But Kairi ain't here and he has to babysit until she comes home. He's not the only one who's not amused," Axel said dryly. "The twins aren't either, so they declared war to him. He asked me for help and you know, I want to keep the peace, so I told them to stop and now they're in war with me too," He added grumpily.

"At war?" I tried not to laugh. "Seriously?"

"Don't laugh," Axel snapped. "This is some serious business!"

"I figured as much," I chuckled. "But-"

I never could make my point because then Riku was driven back into the hallway, his hands up.

"All right, all right, it's okay! You can hurt people with that!"

Then the twins emerged from the living room, with fake swords and red stripes on their cheeks.

They probably stole Kairi's lipstick.

"Get him!" Vanitas yelled as both he and Sora charged towards Riku.

Riku made a run for it and Axel ran after them. "Oi, Van and Sora, you'd better listen to me! Put down those swords and- OUCH!"

Vanitas had given him a whack against his knee with the sword and ran away after that.

"All right, all right," I said, joining Axel's side. "This is serious, I get it. So, what's the plan?"

"To get them apart, to throw the swords in the dust bin and then disciplining them," Axel grumbled, rubbing his sore knee.

The twins ran past us again, Vanitas into the living room, closely followed by Riku, who had found a broom stick to defend himself with.

Sora went up the stairs and I ran after him, grabbing him just before he had reached the top.

"Oh, Roxy," he said happily. "You're joining our side?"

"Your side?" I asked, looking into the innocent blue eyes that reminded me of Kairi a lot.

"Yeah," Sora nodded quickly. "Riku's stupid and he said-he said we couldn't play all afternoon and that we had to stay-had to stay in our room until mommy came back," he said defiantly, stuttering a little because it was so unfair.

He raised his chin, determined. "So Van and I declared it's wartime!" Sora said, looking down at the doorway of the living room, where Riku and Axel were chasing Vanitas.

"All right," I said, smiling at him. "Axel and I will talk to Riku, but you got to give your weapons to us, okay?"

He frowned at me. "You're siding with them," he said accusingly.

"I'm not siding with anyone," I said quickly, even though I saw in his eyes that I had already lost. "I just want everyone to go along-"

"Do you like Riku?" Sora said angrily, pointing a small finger downstairs.

I ran a hand through my hair and let my hand rest on my neck. "To be honest, not really," I said kind of sheepishly, not sure if I should tell him.

"Good," Sora nodded. "Then join us. We have cookies."

I laughed. "I would love to join you, but really, we can't be mean to the others," I said, touching the tip of his nose with my index finger.

"But-but," he said, pouting. "Riku's mean to us!"

"I know, but-"

"No!" Sora suddenly said, a little furious. "You're the same as Axel! We declare war to you!"

I dodged a hit with the plastic sword as he dashed downstairs.

"Sora!" I shouted after him, but he was gone already.

I ran after him, but nearly tripped over Vanitas, who wasn't looking where he was going, but rather who was following him.

I was quick enough to turn around in a flash to grab him. "Got you," I said, trying to wrestle the plastic sword from his tiny fingers.

"Let me gooo!" Vanitas bellowed. "Soraa!"

Sora came back again, followed by Riku, who still had the broomstick in his hand and Axel, who was carrying a cushion.

Vanitas kept wriggling and I had a hard time keeping my grip on him while trying to get the sword from him while Sora started to hit my leg with the sword.

Axel grabbed Sora, however and Riku tried to pry his fingers off the plastic sword.

"Damn kids," he muttered under his breath while Sora started to cry loudly.

"MOMMY! MOMMY!"

Vanitas then proceeded to give me a well directed kick in the stomach and I let go of him at once, catching my breath.

He hadn't hurt me, but he startled me with that move.

He was quicker than I was and he had given Riku a nasty blow against his knee and Riku stopped trying to get Sora's sword, but he now started to swing wildly with the broomstick while he chased Vanitas.

Sora got free after hitting Axel on the head with the sword and Axel let him go.

"Damnit!" Axel cursed under his breath. "This is going to be a long day."

"I have to agree," I grumbled as Axel rubbed the sore spot on his head. "Who gave them those blasted swords?"

"I did," Axel said, clearly not amused. "I thought it was something a cool brother would give, but this is their thanks, I guess."

"Someone ever told you you're out of your mind?" I snorted, grabbing Axel's cushion. "All right, how late does Kairi come back?"

"I think her shift ends within an hour," Axel said, shifting uncomfortably while we heard Riku roar and the twins shriek. "We need to get a peace agreement or something by the time she comes back."

"Agreed," I said, dodging a few blows while the twins had gotten a hold on Riku's broomstick and were now beating him up with it, running after him while he ran circles, protecting his head. "This is not something she should be seeing."

"Right. What do you propose?" Axel said, getting hold of a chair to protect himself.

"Try to negotiate," I said, thinking deeply. "It's Riku they're after, perhaps if we grant that wish, we can get the situation to calm down."

"Right!" Axel said. "Let's go then!"

Axel charged with his chair and I couldn't help but think this was a ridiculous scene.

Riku seemed glad someone finally came to rescue him. "What took you so long?!" He grumbled to Axel, the twins running away, cheering and giving each other a high-five.

"Tactics, man, it's all about the tactics," Axel said mysteriously as we all went upstairs, following the terrors.

"So, what's the tactic?" Riku said curiously, running a hand through his now wild silver hair.

"We'll tell you when the time has come," Axel said smoothly and I tried not to chuckle.

* * *

><p>We spent minutes of just trying to locate the twins, but most of our attempts were in vain as they were small and seemed to crawl underneath our feet in order to get away.<p>

But I finally saw something in the corner of my eye, a flash of brown hair and I didn't think twice as I sprinted towards it. "I caught you, Sora!"

"Nu-uh, you didn't," the boy said happily, turning around to deal a blow with the plastic sword that was slightly bent by now.

He was disappointed when his hit landed on the cushion and I pried the sword away from him.

"NO!" He shouted, his bottom lip quivering.

I put the sword down, together with the cushion, but I kept both in my reach.

"I want to make an agreement with you," I said, looking at him sternly. "Okay?"

He sniffled. "What's an agreement?"

"We will talk about what we want to happen right now and then we make a deal. It means we can both each get something we want, but we have to give something up as well, so we can be friends again," I said.

"Okay," the boy said, a bit relieved. "I want to be friends again with Roxy."

"That's good," I said a little too quickly. "I want to be friends with you again too, Sora."

"So was that the agreement?" The boy said in a confused tone as I heard Axel and Riku yell downstairs.

Sora cocked his head to the side, his eyes interested.

"No, not yet," I laughed. "What do you want now?"

Sora put a finger to his chin. "Er… I want cookies. And my sword. I want to keep playing war with you, but I want to be friends too. I want a puppy. And a dolphin, because dolphins are cute!" he started to bounce a little. "And-And-And I want Riku to be our servant because he is mean."

I couldn't help but smile at the boy. "All right. Let's see. I want this war to end, because it is hurting people. That is why I don't want you to get your sword back. You can have a cookie if you promise not to hurt us again and I want to be friends with you too. I'm not sure I can give you the puppy or the dolphin, but-" I said as I watched Sora's face drop a little. "You can have Riku as your servant. If you end this war."

His eyes started to spark mischievously. "Really?"

"Yes," I said, putting my hand on my heart. "I promise."

"Okay," Sora said wisely, putting his hand on mine. "So we have cookies, end this war, stop hurting, Riku servant and you will get me a dolphin for my birthday."

I put my other hand on his again, grinning at the expectant toddler who was looking up at me. "We have the cookies, no swords, no hurting, end this war and Riku will be your dolphin and your servant."

"Deal," the boy said happily. "So, what do we do now?"

He wrapped his arms around my neck and I lifted him up. "We're going to make peace. And have cookies."

He started to wriggle a little with joy. "Cookies!"

I walked down and I held up my free hand. "Everyone stop!"

Vanitas, who was running away for both Riku and Axel, gave Riku one last whack against his leg before putting on his angelic face.

"You-!"

"THE WAR IS OVER," Sora interrupted loudly, smiling broadly as he smiled. "All shall have cookies and Riku will be a servant and my dolphin!"

Riku stared at us with a blank face. "Wait, what?"

"That's a nice twist of events," Axel commented.

Vanitas just laughed.

* * *

><p>When Kairi finally returned, everyone was at peace; Axel and I playing videogames, Riku doing Riku-stuff and the twins playing sweetly in the corner.<p>

Axel and I gave the twins a warning, so they would never start anything like this again, but we agreed they could have Riku as their servant.

Riku agreed to remain silent about this all to Kairi only if Axel could set him up on a date with Kairi again.

I was disgruntled when I saw that stupid smile on his face, but if Kairi found out about what had happened today, she would be 'pissed off as hell', as Axel said, so I reluctantly agreed.

"Well, that was all my time," I said, standing up, putting my controller down and grinning at Axel. "I did kick your butt, though."

"I'll get you back next time," Axel promised me threateningly. "Have fun with your dad!"

"Sure thing," I said. "See you later!" I gave him one last wave as Riku took my place, to Axel's slight dismay.

When I was about to pull on my coat in the corridor, I bumped into Kairi.

"Oh, hey, Roxas," she said, a bit uneasy. She hadn't forgotten about yesterday either.

"Hello, Kairi," I replied, smiling at her to show her that I had 'forgotten' about the case.

"You're leaving already?" she asked, a slight twinge of disappointment in her eyes and latched through her voice.

"Yeah, promised to have dinner with my dad," I said, as Sora came running towards me.

"Roxy! Roxy! Roxy!" he chanted happily as I picked him up, his tiny arms wrapped around my neck. "You're going away?"

"Yes, I am, but I will be back soon," I said, stroking his wild brown hair that matched his bouncy personality.

He gave me a tight squeeze and made it clear he wanted to be put down, which I then did.

Kairi smiled at me. "You're good with them," she stated, leaning against the wall, her arms loosely crossed.

"I guess," I shrugged a little, a bit uncomfortable under her gaze.

She laughed and I looked back at her, feeling a smile tug at my lips. Then I remembered that Riku was going on a date with her again, like Axel promised.

I suddenly felt nervous. I didn't want her to go out with Riku, but the thought of having to ask her out myself was making every limb tremble. The last time I asked someone out had not been a success (perhaps a bit of luck, though), and I did not want to repeat it with her.

Especially not with Kairi.

"You okay?" she asked. I hadn't noticed she had gotten closer.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered, blushing a little. "I-I," I cleared my throat.

Be manly, Roxas.

"I was just thinking; I'm staying here all the time," I started. "Why don't you come over at my place tomorrow?"

I saw her expression change into one I didn't know, so I quickly added. "So you, Axel and the twins and me, of course. What do you think?"

"Oh, well," she flushed a little. "That's very generous of you, I… I think we'll accept," she said, a heart warming smile on her face again. "But you don't have to do it because you feel, you know, you feel obligated to it, or something-"

"It's because I want to," I said firmly. "Really. I just hope I don't screw the dinner up," I said, scratching my cheek a little. "I'm not that good at cooking, so you might have to buy Chinese food or anything when you're coming home again."

She laughed. "You know what," she said in an enthusiastic manner. "How about I come a little bit earlier to help you prepare?"

It felt like she had said 'yes' to me asking her out on a date without me having asked that. It felt great.

"Sure," I said, feeling light in my head. "So… okay… great!" I couldn't stop smiling.

"Shall I pick a recipe?" she said, her eyes sparkling. "You know, I have some great ones left I usually never make because they take too long to make! We can do those, of course, and surprise everyone!"

I just wanted to hug her. A lot.

"Great!" I said, grinning at her. "Shall I pick you up tomorrow? After my shift?"

"How late?" she asked, I could nearly see her try to hold in the bouncy feeling that was flowing through her. I could see where Sora got it from, I thought with a tender smile.

"Four o'clock," I said. "See you then?"

"Absolutely," she said happily. "I'm really looking forward to it," she said excitedly. "I'm going to dip up all my books again!"

"Good," I said gently. "Then I'll make sure the house is all cleaned up!" I added a bit more lightly.

"You don't have to," she said quickly. "I mean, gee, you can't exactly call this house properly cleaned, right?" she said, running a hand through her hair, a strand falling out of place next to her face.

I laughed, causing her to laugh along. "Then I will see you tomorrow, Kairi," I said brightly.

I couldn't stop myself, I really couldn't.

I moved forward to gently push the lost strand back behind her ears, my fingertips brushing against her ear.

I turned once before I walked out the door, and just in time to see her touch her ear, her face red, her deep blue eyes wide.

And I felt really good.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, everyone.<br>****See you next chapter :)  
><strong>


	10. Extremely Please 2,0

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

_**Chapter Ten  
>Extremely Please 2.0<strong>_

"Ah, good, you're here," my boss said, looking at his watch.

"As if I'm late," I grumbled, putting on my little name card. "The shop's not even open yet."

"Watch your mouth," Seiffer barked. "I can always lower your salary, remember?"

"It's already past the minimum," I stated dryly. "Anyway, where's the new guy?"

"Not here," he said, sitting down on the chair. "He's even more late than you are. That's special."

"I'm not late, Seiffer," I said firmly. "You live here. That's all."

The phone rang and he gave me a stern look. "We'll talk about this later, Strife," he said, pointing an accusing finger at me when he picked up the phone. "Good morning, this is videostore Twilight Horizon, Seiffer Almasy speaking," he said as friendly as he could be.

I shrugged it off and took a look at today's schedule. There was a lot to do today and it would be too much if I was on my own.

I might not make four o'clock. And that was unacceptable.

I started unpacking some new boxes, putting the orders that came from the site apart from the rest.

Then finally the little bell went off and I put my head around the corner to see who came in.

Seiffer was nowhere to be seen, so if it was a customer, I had to take care of him.

But it was the silvery unicorn instead.

"Hey, Riku," I said, a bit confused. "What brings you here?"

Then I noticed the blue shirt he wore. It was identical to mine. He had already put his name tag on it.

"Oh," I said, as he pointed to the name tag. "You're the new employee."

He nodded and grinned. "Hi, colleague."

I was certainly not looking forward to it.

"Hi," I said, not really enthusiastically. "So, we've got a lot to do today. We'd better get started."

As if I hadn't started already. "Besides, Seiffer wants to talk to you; he thinks you're late."

"Really?" Riku said, looking at his watch with a confused look on his face. "I'm five minutes early."

"To him, everyone who arrives three seconds later than he does, is in fact very late," I shrugged.

"Got it," Riku said, coming towards me. "So, what's on the schedule?"

"We've got to prepare the orders that have gotten here today and send them off," I started, looking at the list. "There's also a new batch of CD's, DVD's and games that have to be put in place. We're preparing for the sales as well, so we have to put up these posters everywhere," I said, grabbing the ugly green things. "Let's see if we can do this all before lunchtime."

"Before lunchtime?" Riku said, his face blank and disbelief in his voice. "Are you mad?"

"Have you seen the rest of the list?" I shoved it towards him. "If you want to finish this before your shift ends, we'd better hurry."

He silently joined my side as I was putting the orders together: bought item with the receipt and the address.

Even though he was a dick who had a crush on the same girl as me, he was a pretty cool colleague.

He didn't speak much, looked at how I did things and repeated them in a steady, firm pace.

Perhaps this wasn't so bad.

"So, I was thinking… what is the best way to ask Kairi out, do you think?" he suddenly said just before we had our lunchtime. "I mean, they usually come flying, but Kairi's a tough one. Maybe a new creative idea coming from someone else does the trick, you know?"

Definitely as bad as it seemed like in the first place.

—

"Wow," Seiffer said, looking at the checklist. "Everything's done?"

"Jup," I said, preparing to leave. "See you Monday."

"Hold up, hold up," Seiffer said, frowning at me. "What's the hurry?"

"I gotta go," I said stiffly. "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to talk with you about your salary. Perhaps I was wrong to decrease it so much for stupid things."

I chuckled. "That's an understatement."

Seiffer shrugged a bit. "You're doing good work. I was thinking about raising it a little."

"So that it is the legal minimum?" I asked with a smirk. "That's a first."

He snorted. "There's a first for everything. Now get lost before I lower it again!"

"See ya, boss," I said, shutting the door behind me. Riku was finishing up, but I was not waiting for him.

I was looking forward to see everyone tonight, but I could do it without him, really.

—

"You're here!" Kairi opened the door in one swift movement, her whole face expressing joy and excitement. "Just in time!"

I walked in, closing the door while she sprinted to the kitchen. "I sent Axel and the twins to the park - Axel said he knew where you lived, so I told him to come to you around half past five- so they don't know we're cooking!" she chanted while I followed her. "All right, they know you're doing some of the cooking, but they don't know I prepared, where is it again…, oh right, here, look! It's a complete 3 course meal, so I bet they are delighted!"

She showed me three recipes and I took them over, glancing at them. "This seems tough," I said a bit uncomfortable, rubbing the back of my neck. "And that's a lot of ingredients too…"

"Don't worry!" She said immediately, spinning around to give me a broad smile. "I've got everything covered!"

There were two bags on the table, in which I now presumed were the ingredients.

"I start to feel uneasy at the thought that you're going to see how much I fail in cooking," I said, a little horrified.

She laughed. "Don't worry, we can just make you cut everything and stir some pots or something," she winked. "We can tell everyone later you did it all. It'll be our secret."

That seemed fine by me. I chuckled. "All right, well, if they're arriving that soon, we'd better get cooking!"

"Right!" She said, her eyes flashing to the clock above us. "Right."

I took the bags and gestured for her to lead the way out.

"At least I can carry… that means something too."

"Of course, Roxas, of course."

—

"Sooo, if I get this right, we need to prepare this first," I pointed to a heap of vegetables. "And then put the meat in it, and then er…" I took a quick glance at the recipe again. "Then we need to put it inside the French pastry?"

"That's right," Kairi said, standing next to me, her eyes scanning the recipe too. "So, if you start cutting the vegetables, I'm going to make the desserts first."

"Why?" I asked while she already unpacked the necessary ingredients. "Shouldn't I help you first with that then?"

"It has to cool off in the refrigerator for a while," she said, her slender fingers quick and confident as she started to unwrap packages. "So we can work together on our second course when we're both done."

"Okay," I said, watching how she struggled to get her apron in the right place. "Need some help with that?"

"If you could,- ah, thanks," she said, hiding her face from me as I stood behind her, tying the loose ends of the apron in a neat bow.

"Okay," she recollected herself and shook her hair out of her face, smiling at me. "The mission starts… now!"

I chuckled, starting to cut an onion. "You're really into this, aren't you?"

"Of course," she said happily, preparing a piping bag with chocolate. "I've always loved cooking. I used to do it together with my mother."

"I see," I said, trying not to cry, but damn, the onion!

"When she died," Kairi said softly. "It didn't seem right to just stop doing what we both loved doing. Besides," she added with a lighter tone. "I believe my cooking is very well appreciated by certain persons."

We both started to laugh as we thought of her brother.

"So, what about you?" Kairi said, looking up to see the tears rolling down my cheeks. "Awwh, poor baby, are you so sad?" she said, biting her lip not to laugh harder.

"Hush, you," I said, wiping at my face with my sleeve, only worsening the effect. "Gah," I pressed my eyes shut and made a strange face. "Good spreading of activities, Kairi. You get the chocolate, I get the tears."

Kairi hiccuped in her laughter. "C'mere, let me kiss you better," she said, planting a quick kiss on my cheek.

My eyes shot open in surprise to stare at her, but that wasn't a very good idea, I quickly found out.

It was definitely Kairi's intention, and my eyes stung like crazy, but my cheek tingled and so did the butterflies elsewhere.

"All better now?" she asked innocently, a mischievous look on her face.

"You're mean," I said, giving her a soft pat on her back with a wooden spoon. "But I'll forgive you, because if I don't, I won't have dinner tonight."

"Like that isn't mean!" Kairi said, feigning shock. "You just said that the only reason you want me here is to make you dinner. Psh."

Like I was going to tell her that I had many… many reasons.

I had finished the onion and put it aside when I started on the leek. "Of course there is only one reason, I'm a simple guy," I said jokingly.

Kairi hummed. "Yeah, I figured that much," she laughed. "No, don't worry," she added quickly. "I don't think you're just simple."

"Thanks," I said, grinning as she admired her work. "Oh, you're already done?" I said in shock.

"Oh no, not yet," she said happily. "But almost, so you'd better hurry," she gave me a wink. "I'm not waiting."

—-

We both stood proudly in front of the oven. "Great," I said as she planted her hands on her hips. "That's one item off the list."

"Two," she said laughing. "There's a part in the refrigerator too."

"Right. So the first thing is soup, right?"

"Yes," she nodded. "The twins love it. I made it once, for Christmas last year."

"That's good! Then there is at least one piece they like of the three courses!" I said, nudging her.

She giggled. "No, the last part is going to blow their minds and I'm sure they like the second course as well!"

"Of course," I said brightly. "You made it."

"Oh, stop it," she said, but she smiled widely.

"Shall I set the table while you prepare the soup?" I looked at my watch while returning her smile. "I think we're going to make it just in time. When I'm done, I'm back to my job of stirring the pots."

"Deal," she said, laughing, turning to the small pile of left cut vegetables to put into the soup.

I set the table not too formally, for three purposes. One, this was not a date. Second, then it would be a date with Axel too and that was not the plan at all, and third, I was sure the twins would ravish the table.

In conclusion, I was finished early.

"That smells good," I said appreciatively as I looked over her shoulder into the pot."Can I help?"

"Sure," she said, giving the wooden spoon to me. "Stirring it is, sir."

"Right, gotcha," I said snickering, taking the spoon over while Kairi checked her phone. "Is Axel on his way?"

"Yeah, he asks if I can find it by myself," she said giggling. "He doesn't suspect a thing."

"Good," I said, grinning. "The surprise is still intact."

She winked at me. "We make a good team, Roxas!"

"We do indeed," I agreed. "We sure do."

—

"He's around the corner," Kairi said, looking up from her phone to check if she saw Axel already through the window.

"Well, just in time," I said, stirring the soup one last time. "I think it's done."

"You know, Roxas," Kairi said when she collected the bowls from the table. "This was really fun."

"I agree," I said, looking tenderly down at her, pleased to see that her cheeks had a faint reddish glow. We heard the doorbell and I grinned. "Why don't you open the door to begin the surprise?"

"Okay," she said happily and was ready to dash off to the door.

"Wait!" I said, gesturing her back. "Here," I said, loosening the tie of her apron. "This might spoil a lot."

"You're right!" she gasped, putting the apron away and grinning at me. "Thanks!"

I heard Axel's low voice say her name in a shocked manner and the twins were cheering excitedly.

Kairi led them back into the kitchen, where I was serving the soup.

"Hey Axel!" I said cheerfully. "Hello Vanitas and Sora!" I added, getting down on my knees to hug them. "Long time no see!"

"We missed you," Sora said very solemnly.

"Noooo," Vanitas said, shaking his head. "We saw him yesterday!"

"Oh," Sora said, frowning while putting a finger to his chin. "All right. I missed you, Roxy," he then said to me, grinning. "We are hungry," he added in the same tone, like it was on the same subject.

Kairi picked them up. "We're going to have dinner right now," she said happily while Axel sat down and started to sniff the smell of his soup. "So I want you two to behave and eat properly, okay?"

"Yes, mommy," the twins said in unison as Kairi put them down on the chairs.

"Dude, did you make this?" Axel said suspiciously. "It smells terribly good, man."

"Of course," I huffed. "It's not as if I can't cook." I gave Kairi a wink behind Axel's back and she smiled as she sat down opposite of me.

"All right. Bon appetite, everyone!" Axel said immediately, grabbing a spoon.

It was silent for a moment when everyone started to eat the soup.

Kairi and I looked at each other when we saw Axel frown and quickly swallow another mouthful.

"I KNEW IT!" He exclaimed, accusingly pointing the spoon at me. "IT WASN'T YOU!"

Kairi and I burst into laughter.

"Surprise!"

—-

After dinner, Kairi was right about the desert. She had made small 'Olaf'-ice cream figures and the twins were really into it.

Axel snickered. "Oh, look, I ripped his arm off," he said, quickly putting the chocolate arm in his mouth.

"So you've seen the movie too?" I asked him, taking a spoonful of ice-cream out of the body of the popular snowman.

"Of course," Axel said easily. "At least twenty times, because the twins made me watch it with them. LET IT GOOO!"

"Okay, stop singing," I interrupted. "No more singing."

"Let it gooo!" Sora sang, his arms wide over his head, dripping ice-cream in his hair. "Let it goooo!"

Vanitas joined by drumming his hands on the table. "I'M NOT A NICE GIRL ANYMOREEE!"

"That's a new addition," Axel commented. "However, I like it."

"Oh, Sora," Kairi chuckled, removing the ice-cream from the brown locks of the toddler. "Now your hair is all sticky."

Other than the karaoke that was inspired by the treats, the last part of dinner went on smoothly.

Kairi and I went to keep shooting each other secretive glances and smiles and I just hoped I got to do this again with her.

And judging by the looks she gave me, she thought just the same.

—

"ROXY! PLAY WITH US!" Sora cried in my ear, tugging at my hair, while the other was hanging onto the waistband of my jeans. "ROXY! ROXY!" Vanitas whined.

Axel sat back on the chair and wrapped his arm around Kairi's shoulder, who tried to hold her laughter. "Isn't this a night sight, Kai? Look at that: they've combined forces and we get to kick back for a second!"

"No! Let go of my hair," I tried to pry Sora off my head, but he was very keen on holding on.

Seems like he has had years of practice.

"PLEASE?! PLEASE?!" Sora pleaded loudly in my ear.

"Vanitas! Come on, guys!" I said, tugging at my waistband with my other hand to keep my trousers up. "Let go!"

"LET IT GOOO!" Vanitas roared. "YOU'RE NOT A NICE GIRL ANYMORE!"

"I never was a girl in the first place! Sora, you're making me bald!"

"I do feel a little sorry for him," Kairi said, but smiling widely. "Although it is kind of funny to watch."

"You're just watching until his pants drop off, pervert," Axel said, nudging his sister with a grin.

"No! I'm not! You-" she flushed and she gave her brother a fervent push. "Get lost, you creep."

"EXTREMELY PRETTY PLEASE?!" Vanitas yelled. "WITH A STRAWBERRY ON TOP?!"

"I've eaten too much already, Vanitas! No, Sora! Let go of my hair!"

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?!" Sora continued.

Vanitas turned to Kairi. "Mommy, help?"

"What do you want me to do, honey?" Kairi smiled, not meeting my eyes, but I could see a flicker in hers. Shit.

"Do you want to please with us? Please?" Sora said happily.

"All right," Kairi said, getting in front of me.

"Oh no, stop that," I said as she made a puppy dog face. "No, don't you dare!"

"Extremely please 2.0?" She whispered, pouting a little. "Do you want to play a game with my really sweet kids?"

"OKAY, OKAY, I'm playing with you! Now let go!"

"WE'RE LETTING GOOOO!" Sora sang, letting go of my hair and making a dramatic gesture with his arms in the air, while I had to catch him before he fell off my shoulder, my trousers dropping slightly as Vanitas slid down my leg and landed on his feet.

Kairi just burst into laughter as I gave her a stern look. "Don't use that method ever again!"

She made a little bow and smiled at me. I forgave her instantly.

"There you go," I said, putting Sora down and pulling my trousers up again. "Okay, I've got an idea. If you still got that much energy, let's play Twister!"

That was a terrible idea.

Kairi had insisted not to play along, but she agreed to be the spinner.

"All right, everyone, right foot on red!" she said, laughing at the situation in front of her.

Sora laid flat on his stomach, his arms and legs spread like he was a starfish. Vanitas didn't really get the idea of the game and just stood up straight with both his feet on one red spot and hands on his hips in a proud and smug manner.

Axel was leaning back on his hands and tried to touch the red spot with his right foot, but I was kind of crawled up and couldn't reach it without falling over Sora.

Sora however, started to make a snow angel where there was no snow at all.

One of his feet touched my trembling leg and I fell over for real.

"Roxy is out! Roxy is out!" Vanitas exclaimed, pointing at me.

I didn't really mind however, because that meant I could relax on the couch without being torn apart either by myself or by the twins.

"Left hand on blue!" Kairi said, after spinning again.

We watched as Axel and the twins fought it out together, while we laughed at them from the sidelines.

Kairi's warmth was really comfortable and I caught myself thinking that this was way better than nearly falling face first into Axel's crotch.

On second thought, anything was better than falling face-first into Axel's crotch.

Axel was a little too inflexible (because he was the only one who played the game right, though), so he lost from the twins, who made up a joy dance and swung around wildly with their arms.

A bit too close to my mom's favorite vase.

I sprinted towards it to protect it from their wild movements.

Axel chuckled. "Good save, man. It was close."

Kairi finally calmed the toddlers down from their excited state and she stood up, although a little reluctant.

"The kids have to go to bed," she said, holding Sora close to her chest, who was sucking his thumb, while Vanitas held her hand. "So I guess we have to leave," she said a little apologetic. "Axel can stay to do the dishes with you, though-"

"No, no," I interrupted quickly. "It's my pleasure. You all better get home safely."

"You sure?" Axel said, looking at the pile. "That's a lot of-"

"We have a dishwasher," I said, laughing. "Don't worry, it'll fit."

I walked with them to our front door and Axel gave me a pat on the shoulder. "We should do this again, sometime!"

"Sure thing, Axel," I said as he took over Sora and Vanitas from Kairi.

"I really had a great time, too," Kairi said a bit shy. "I really hope you're going to help me out with cooking again!"

"Perhaps I can finally convince people it really is my doing then," I said chuckling.

"I'm sure they will believe you then," Kairi said brightly. "Good night, Roxas."

She seemed to hesitate a little, but then stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Sleep tight," she said softly, her warm breathing in my neck.

I pressed her a little bit more close and I could feel an idiotic wide smile on my face.

"Sleep tight, Kairi."

As soon as she let me go, the twins had freed themselves from Axel and hugged my legs. "Good night, Roxy!"

I sat down on my knees to give them proper hugs. "Sleep well, Sora! Good night, Vanitas!"

They gave me their trademark grins before running back to Axel, who saluted me. "See you later, man!"

"Gotcha," I said, grinning at him.

I watched the family walk away, the smile on my face couldn't be eliminated tonight.

—

After I had cleaned everything up in the kitchen, I went to clean up the Twister game. I hadn't played it for more than ten years.

After I had put everything back in the box, I fell back on the couch.

I stretched my arms and found out my smile could be eliminated after all.

This had been the last night of my mother's favorite vase.

"Damnit!"


	11. Swimming Ducks

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Eleven<br>Swimming Ducks**_

* * *

><p>It looked like Summer was coming to an end. Which obviously meant the temperature was rising because it didn't care for all the complaints it had gotten the entire season.<p>

It just made sense.

"You're an idiot, Axel," Riku huffed angrily while pulling with all his might at a formless, huge heap of plastic without much success.

That was correct; like I did almost every day now, I was spending the afternoon at the Hikari's.

Kairi had just gone out for work and it was just me, Axel, the Unicorn and the Terrors.

We had all agreed on the fact that Axel was in fact an idiot because he had left every window and door open, which was now the cause of an immense heat inside and that we had to spend the afternoon outside.

The twins, however, did not mind, nor did Axel and I, hidden in the shadows.

Riku, who was standing with his bare back in the merciless sun, was sweating and panting as he kept dragging the plastic heap around.

The twins had decided they wanted to swim in a pool, which was the start of all this.

Axel had complained about the inflatable pool that they had; it was huge and heavy and he didn't even want to mention how much effort he had to put into the 'inflatable aspect'.

The twins had pouted, raged and had done all the protest they wanted, but Axel was not bending even slightly into their direction.

I was nearly surrendering to their tears, when luck changed it all.

That's when Riku arrived.

As he had lost the war, he still had a promise to fulfill.

He had to be their servant for an entire day and that, my friends, really came in handy today.

So that was why Riku was out in the open field, dragging the inflatable pool along.

"Come on, Riku," Axel called out, leaning back into his chair. "We haven't got all day!"

"That was just cruel," I chuckled.

Vanitas was discovering the tyrant in himself as he kept yelling orders at Riku, who simply shrugged them off and ignored him.

Sora was watching contently, licking his ice-cream.

"Are there going to be ducks?" he asked Axel, who stared at him.

"Ducks?"

"Yeah, the ducks," Sora said impatiently, like he didn't really understand what was so difficult about that word. "Are there going to be any ducks?"

"Like Donald Duck?" Axel snickered.

"Nooo!" Vanitas interrupted with a frown. "Real ducks. Not talking ones."

"Why would there be ducks?" Axel said, snorting as his attempt for humor was not appreciated.

"Because there is water?" Sora said matter-of-factly.

"If you two keep on quacking, you might have yourself two splendid ducks," Axel ended the conversation. "Let's continue watching our servant work, please."

Riku shot a fierce glaze at Axel and I was sure that if looks could kill, my best friend would no longer be sitting next to me.

"Oh, come on, Riku! It can't be that hard! You know the girls dig the sweaty, muscular, mysterious man. Come on, dude, you can pull it off!"

Riku seemed to ponder about that for a moment and he continued his work with a little smirk.

"Did you really have to say that?" I asked Axel, a bit disgruntled. "How would you know that's true anyway?"

Axel laughed. "Don't be so sour, Roxas! I have knowledge that you have not. Just accept my wisdom."

"I would hardly call it wisdom," I commented with a smirk. "I bet you've got that idea just by watching idiotic po-"

"Ohoo, don't say more," Axel said warningly. "There are kids around."

"You're watching it while they are in the same house. That's even more disgusting."

"Shut up," Axel said, nudging me.

"Is this a good spot?" Riku called, wiping his forehead with his free arm. "I think it is."

"Don't ask us," Axel said laughing. "Ask the twins."

Riku's eyebrow seemed to twitch, but we couldn't be sure so far away. "Sora? Vanitas?" Riku tried to sound friendly. "Is this a good spot for the swimming pool?"

"Nope," Vanitas said coldly. "A little bit more lefty."

Sora nodded. "And then a little bit more righty."

Riku tried to control himself, but his tone was extremely forced. "But that means I'm back on the place I am now, right?"

"No!" Vanitas said stubbornly. "You go more forward."

"And then more backwards," Sora sang, clapping in his hands.

"You're monsters," Axel said to his younger brothers. "It's all right Riku, you can start blowing it up now."

"Great," Riku heaved a sigh. "Do you have a pump or anything?"

One look on Axel's face and Riku knew enough.

"Oh, God, seriously, Axel?" Riku groaned. "No way that I'm doing this!"

"You have to!" Vanitas said happily. "You're our servant!"

Riku bit back some curses, but I stood up, checking my back pocket for my wallet. "I'll buy a pump from the store," I said. "If you start blowing, we'll be finished earlier."

Riku sat down on his knees and reluctantly started to blow air into the opening of the inflatable pool.

"Aren't you the kind one?" Axel snickered. "Well, all right, let me give you money. I feel bad if you have to pay for his incompetence."

"INCOMPETENCE?!" Riku roared, his face beetle red and an angry scowl on his face. "HOW DARE YOU CALL THIS INCOMPETENCE?!"

"Hush," Axel said brightly. "A servant never complains!"

"Well, fu-"

"There are kids around," Axel chanted. "Think about Kairi, that will lighten your spirits!"

For a moment, Riku seemed to overthink his decision to give up his freedom for one day for a date with Kairi, but then he continued his job without further ado.

However, I was debating whether I still was going to buy the pump.

"Here you go," Axel said, handing munny over after he had counted it. "This should be enough."

"We want to go with you!" Sora said, jumping up, his popsicle making a complete mess of his hand, clothes, hair, face and surroundings.

"Gross, Sora," Axel said, trying to wipe it off with a napkin. "Yuck, it's sticky! Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?!"

"I'll be right back, all right?" I said to the twins. "You have to keep an eye on Riku!"

"Right!" Vanitas said with a solemn nod. "We'll take care of him, Roxy."

Sora tried to say something too, but Axel was fervently rubbing at his face with a napkin. "Stop moving, Sora!" he said sternly. "You can't go into the swimming pool like this!"

Leaving the bizarrely funny scene behind, I got on my way to the store.

* * *

><p>"Roxas, wait up!"<p>

I hadn't imagined the pump to be so heavy, but I was used to much heavier boxes at work.

I turned to see my favorite redhead running towards me.

She was still dressed in her waitress outfit and she was panting a little. "Hey, Kairi," I said, a little bit amused. "I thought you wouldn't be done until four."

"I wouldn't," she agreed, shooting a confused glance at the box in my hand. "But I got off early. What's that for? Are you going camping or something?"

"No," I said, giving her a better view of the box. "It's for the twins, actually."

"What do they want with a pump?" Kairi asked with an alarmed tone in her voice. "What are they up to?"

"Don't worry," I reassured her. "It's just for the pool."

"Oh," she said, wiping at her forehead. "That seems like a good idea. I might hop in as well. It's damn hot."

That did seem like a good idea.

God, I was such a pervert.

"Well, I didn't buy the pump for nothing," I said, laughing a little. "Riku's lung capacity isn't enough to blow up the entire thing within a couple of minutes."

"Oh gosh, did he really start doing that?" she said in shock. "In this heat? What an idiot!"

"Yeah," I said, a little uncomfortable. "He… he kept insisting."

"That's really sweet of him, to go to such limits for the twins," Kairi said, folding her arms behind her back.

That was not really the image I was going for.

"Well, I think he also did it for himself," I said quickly. "I mean, it's a big pool right?"

"Oh, I had forgotten about that," Kairi said, shrugging a little. "Well, still, I think it's nice of him. But I'm not sure if it's such a good idea that I go in then. If he's going to play with them, I might be spoiling the fun, right?" she said, smiling at me.

If that would mean she would join the sidelines and thus being in my close proximity, I would vote yes all the same.

We had finally reached the house and she opened the front door.

We heard loud cheers from outside and we quickly went to the backyard to see what was going on.

Riku was still blowing with all his might, the heap of plastic slightly taking form to that of a swimming pool and the twins were cheering him on to blow harder.

"Oh, hey, Kairi!" Axel greeted his younger sister. "You're right on time, Riku is getting the hang of it."

"That's a shame," I said, faking a pout. "I just bought the pump."

"Pump?" Riku called breathlessly. "Did someone say 'pump'?!"

"Yeah," I said laughing. "Here, you can catch your breath, I've bought one."

"I owe you so much," Riku said, charging towards the pump and started to open the box.

"Here Axel," I said, throwing his munny back. "See this as a gift from me."

"You're an angel," Axel said, trying not to burst into laughter. "I think you just saved Riku's life."

"Yeah, you saved the day," Riku said solemnly. "All right, now how does this thing work?"

Vanitas jumped on his back. "What are you doing? Get back to work!"

"Vanitas!" Kairi said sternly. "Don't talk to Riku like that!"

Sora shook his head at Kairi. "Mommy, Riku is our dolphin!"

"Dolphin…?" Kairi said in a confused tone, looking at us. "What does he mean?"

Axel and I were quick to shrug our shoulders. "Beats me," Axel said innocently.

"Don't worry, babe," Riku said, having recollected his old self again. "I'm just playing around with them."

Kairi didn't seemed moved much by the form of address he used for her, she just smiled a little. "All right then, I'll make us all something to drink then after I've changed my clothes."

Riku's head shot up. "You're joining them with swimming then?"

Kairi tried not to look horrified. "No, no, I head you were already a volunteer for playing with them, so I think I'll just read my book or something."

"Oh," Riku said disappointedly while I tried to hide a grin.

Axel gave me a look from the corner of his eye, but I shrugged it off.

"RIKU!" Sora started to drum his hands on the opened box. "THE DUCKS DON'T WAIT!"

"Calm down, calm down," Riku grumbled. "I'm on it, I'm on it."

"Not fast enough," Vanitas said in an icy voice. "Get going, mr. Dolphin!"

"I do feel a little for him," Axel admitted with a grin. "But I'm glad it's not me this time."

And so the pool stood within a few minutes and it was time to get the hosepipe.

* * *

><p>"Why aren't the ducks here?" Sora said, pouting. He had been wiped clean by Kairi's efficient tactics after all Axel's had failed.<p>

"Because," Riku said a little bit annoyed. "The ducks have no food here."

"No problem," Vanitas said, trying to climb out of the pool. "I'll get food."

"You stay in here, sir!" Riku said, grabbing him and putting him back in the pool.

Riku sat with his back against the border of the pool in his underwear, his arms crossed and a 'I'm not amused'-expression painted across his face while the twins danced around him in the cool water.

Kairi looked over the brim of her book and bit back a chuckle as she saw the clear contrast between the almost unmoving Riku and the excited toddlers.

"Okay, Riku," Sora said seriously. "Maybe the ducks will come when they see the dolphin."

"What dolphin?" Riku said without any emotions.

"You, silly," Vanitas said, tugging at his arm. "C'mon! Act like you're a dolphin!"

"I don't see-"

"You promised," Vanitas said darkly.

"Come on, Riku," Sora said with a pout. "Please?"

Riku caught Kairi looking and heaved a sigh. "All right, all right."

Axel was laughing his ass off and I tried hard not to join him as Riku started to made weird movements in the fond hope it looked enough like a dolphin to the screaming kids.

"No, no, no!" Sora shook his head fervently as Riku tried to shake the water from his hair.

"That didn't look like a dolphin at all!" Vanitas said cruelly. "This is how it's done."

He put his head in the water and came back to the surface, taking a deep breath.

"I just did that!" Riku argued.

"No, it's more like this!" Sora, who was crawling over the bottom, put his head down and bobbed it up in what he thought was an elegant matter. "This is a dolphin!"

"It's more like a lobster out to rape someone," Axel commented softly, laughing even more. "This is the best thing I've ever seen!"

I couldn't help and I laughed along. "I won't ever forget this!"

"You guys are horrible," Kairi said to us, even though she laughed while Riku tried his best to convince the twins that he had done the exact same thing as they showed him.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Axel said with a provocative smile. "Make us join while we're dressed up like ducks?"

"Seems like a good plan," she said. "I bet you two look super cute."

"We're not out on a quest to look cute, Kai," Axel said sternly. "We're here to laugh at a dolphin."

"Seriously, Riku?" Vanitas said while he crossed his arms as Riku and just done a second attempt at being a dolphin. "You're a disappointment."

"Where does he get that cruel side from?" I said in amazement.

"Axel," Kairi said immediately while looking back in her book. "I've never displayed that much aggression and vivid coldness ever before in my life."

"Oi," Axel said, raising a brow. "You tore apart my paper planes!"

"After you set my favorite doll on fire!" Kairi shot back, frowning at her brother.

"Yeah, and that was for smashing my computer game!"

"Well, I only did that because you had helped my guinea pig escape!"

"Then you shouldn't have… you shouldn't have… er… I don't really remember what you did before that," Axel said, frowning.

"Exactly," Kairi said with an angelic smile.

"Okay," Sora interrupted our talk. "Let's do this differently. Riku, be a rabbit."

"What the fuck?!"

"RIKU, LANGUAGE!"

* * *

><p>"But… But mommy," Sora complained as Kairi tucked him in. "There weren't any ducks!"<p>

"Perhaps there will be ducks tomorrow," Kairi soothed him. "We can always go feed them in the park. I bet they are hungry!"

"But aren't they super duper hungry now?" Vanitas said as he shot up in bed. "We must feed them!"

"Someone else gave them food today," Kairi said reassuringly as she moved over to stroke Vanitas's hair. "Tomorrow it's our turn."

Vanitas frowned. "That's stupid. The ducks belong to us."

"The ducks belong to no one, honey," Kairi said firmly. "They're free."

"That's nice," Sora said, clapping his hands. "Then we can share!"

"Exactly," Kairi said, giving both her brothers a final kiss on their heads. "Now, goodnight, my dears."

"Goodnight mommy," they said in unison when Kairi left the room and switched the lights off.

"Oh, you were listening," she whispered in a surprised manner when she saw me standing there, leaning against the wall.

"I was," I whispered back. "I wanted to say goodbye to you before I left, but I didn't want to interrupt."

"I should say you wouldn't have interrupted," Kairi admitted softly. "But I'm thankful that you didn't. You probably made them excited all over again."

"I figured," I chuckled gently as we walked downstairs. "Axel's off to his shift already, but told me to say good night to you as well."

"I see," Kairi nodded. "And Riku has gone home way earlier… I feel kind of sorry for the treatment that the twins gave him."

"He let it happen," I reassured her, trying not to feel guilty.

"That's true too," Kairi sighed.

"You think too much," I said tenderly, smiling at her. "Don't let it keep you up at night."

I actually meant that she shouldn't let Riku keep her up at night.

She laughed. "Oh, believe me, having two small children around makes sure that when you can sleep, you will sleep."

I opened the front door and turned back to her. "In that case," I said playfully. "I'd better get out then so you can catch your beauty sleep."

"Oh, hush," she said. "It's not like I want to get you out of the house or anything," she quickly added. "It's just true."

"I know," I said, winking at her. "Well, I've got to go. Tomorrow's shift starts early."

"All right," she said, giving a nod. "It's serious business."

"Isn't it always?" I said laughing. "Sleep well, Kairi."

"Sleep tight, Roxas," she said gently, taking a step forward to embrace me once more.

It did feel really natural, like she belonged in my arms.

"Will I see you tomorrow again?" she asked, rather shy.

"Definitely."

I could never stay away too long, anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! :) <strong>


	12. I just thought you should know

_**Roses are red, terrors are… blue?**_

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin <em>_terrors._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter Twelve<br>I just thought you should know**_

* * *

><p>Perhaps it's strange, but time seems to fly when your mind is occupied by other things than time itself.<p>

"Mommy, mommy, can we have that?"

"You know, I just really hope she won't let them have anything," Axel said to me, landing a karate kick on my head in the old game we were playing.

"Kairi's old and wise enough to decide whether they are going to be lethal with that anything or not," I shrugged while dodging the next kick. "Seriously? Just try some other moves!"

The twins emerged in front of us, with an empty, plastic bottle.

"Axy! Roxy! We got a bottle!"

"Oh, that's great," Axel said, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Axy!" Vanitas hit him hard on the knee with the bottle. "Axy! We got a BOTTLE!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard it the first time," Axel said, rubbing his knee as he quit the game, sighing as I stifled a laugh. "So what do you want to do with the bottle?"

"We want to play a game!" Sora said happily. "We can, right?"

"Of course," said the slick voice of the Unicorn, who joined us, his arm around Kairi's waist, who tried to move out under his grip. "We can play 'spin the bottle'!"

"You can't," Axel stated dryly. "It'd be either gross or incest. Nu-uh."

"What's 'spin the bottle', Riku?" Vanitas asked, curious as he waved the bottle around. "Are we going to spin with it?"

"Yeah," Riku said. "But you spin it on the ground. And besides, Axel, we can change the rules a little."

"To bend them to your will," Axel scoffed. "Well, I'm out."

"Riku, let's just-" Kairi started, looking a bit helplessly. "Let's just play a different game before we-"

"No!" Sora said, pouting as he crossed his arms. "I want to play spinny bottle!"

"No, it's 'Spin the Bottle'," Riku corrected.

"Let's play spinny bottle!" Vanitas exclaimed, pumping the empty bottle in the air.

"Spin the-" Riku tried again, a bit exasperated.

"No," Kairi said firmly. "They're too young and besides, almost all of us are family, so Axel's right. Perhaps later, boys, when you're alone with Riku."

Riku made a face. "You're so mean."

"Hush," she said sternly, raising a brow at him. "Let's play something else."

"20 Questions, perhaps?" Riku said suggestively. "I'd love to… know someone better."

"You're too obvious," Axel groaned, putting on his console again, only to find out it didn't load.

"Perhaps blowing helps?" I suggested, chuckling as he frowned at the screen.

He got up to blow in his console system, as Vanitas started to dance around him with the bottle.

"What's with the questions?" Sora asked, putting a finger on his chin. "Oh, I know! We're going to ask a question and the first one to know the answer wins!"

"That's a different game," Riku said slowly, sighing. "Well, Kairi, perhaps… er… you might want to get ready. I have reserved-"

"Right," she interrupted, a little toneless. "I'll be right back."

"Get ready?" I asked as she left the room, looking at Riku's smug face.

"We're going out tonight," Riku said, looking as if he had to state the obvious, even though I wouldn't call Kairi's behavior a 'date-like' one.

Stupid asshole.

"Oh," I said, trying not to look annoyed. "Oh, that's… great."

"All right!" Axel interrupted with a happy yell. "It's on!"

"Like Donkey Kong!" Sora added in a sing-sang voice. "Are we going to play that?!"

"Nooo," Vanitas said, whining as he tugged at Axel's shirt. "We want to play the bottle game with you!"

"Oh, believe me," Axel said darkly. "You don't want to play that game with me. It'll cause you embarrassment and confidence issues later on."

"Wha-?" Vanitas said, looking a bit confused. "What's that?"

Sora got on his knees to look inside the console. "Oooh, it's shiny!"

"Oi, get away from there!" Axel gently pulled his younger brother away from his precious console.

"Anyway," Riku interrupted, clearing his throat. "Yeah, I think we're finally getting somewhere," he said to me, grinning. "It sure took me a while."

"Yeah," I said coldly. "Better not mess up tonight, right?"

Oh, I wish he did, though. Or perhaps not. It would make Kairi sad and that was not something I'd ever wish for.

"I won't," he said reassuringly. "I've endured all of this for a reason," he added with a wink, though I only felt the need to roll my eyes.

I restrained myself, though. I gave a small nod before I turned back to Axel, who was struggling in a loud manner with his brothers.

"No! Let me go! You cannot have the controller! Vanitas, don't you dare put your tiny teeth in my controller! Sora, let go of my leg! Don't throw the console! N-… okay, okay, Van, you can play with us but please don't murder my- oh, thanks. Sora!"

"Need some help?" I said, standing up to grasp one of the controllers from Vanitas's grip. "Oi, Van! Let go!"

"Noooo!" Vanitas whined, tugging even harder. "You are mean! Let us play!"

"No way," Axel said loudly. "This is my precious! Let it go!"

"LET IT GOOO!" Sora sang while I snickered. "That was a Gollum reference, man. That's a bad sign."

"Oh, shut up," Axel muttered, putting Sora over his shoulder while I held the controller high above Vanitas's head while he climbed up my trousers. "Like you would want them around your computer."

"Haha, no," I said, shuddering. "That'd be suicide."

"This is the same," he grumbled, having a little trouble as Sora was banging his little fists on his back. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"This is all your fault, Riku!" Axel shot at Riku, who waited motionless for Kairi to return.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" he said indignantly. "I'm just waiting!"

We finally got the twins to cooperate as we promised them we would play Mario Kart again with the four of us, after dinner.

They agreed and went to play with the cars in the corner of the living room, to practice for later that evening. It involved car throwing.

Kairi finally came down, though she did not seem as radiant as she had done the first time they went out.

She seemed very reluctant, actually.

As she came down, Axel glanced at the clock. "Oh, right," he said. "It's time to get some dinner all ready. Have fun, sis," he said, giving her a thoughtful pat on the shoulder as he passed her, with a slight look of sympathy.

I kind of walked after them, to 'close the door behind them', although I wasn't quite sure what I wanted.

Keep her here? On what grounds? I wish I knew.

Let her go? Not really an option, though that was gonna happen.

"Well, see you later, Roxas," Riku said easily as he took off to get his car while Kairi lingered, hugging herself.

"Bye," I said after Riku, leaning against the doorway.

"Ah, I'm sorry to have you babysit the kids again," Kairi said, a bit uneasy as she looked at her feet.

"It's nothing," I said, shrugging. "Axel and I will be fine," I reassured her with a smile.

"Good, good," she said, a bit absently as she glanced over her shoulder at Riku, who was getting into his car.

"Have fun," I said, trying to feign some enthusiasm.

"Thanks," she murmured.

Riku gestured at her to hurry up and she took a deep breath when she turned to me again, this time she did look me in the eye.

"I just figured you should know," she said, her voice hurried and tense. "I'm doing this for Axel, not for myself. Axel told you, right?"

"Yeah, he did," I said, smiling at her. "I'm sorry we made you-"

Riku blew the horn again and Kairi looked behind her, even more tense. "Don't worry about it," she said, shaking her head. "I just want you to know… I… I think…"

I watched Riku take out his cell phone, an annoyed frown on his face.

"Oh dear," she mumbled, looking away. "I didn't know it would be so hard."

"You should go," I said gently as she fiddled with her thumbs in front of me. "He's getting impatient."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "Look," she said, looking back at me. "Remember when you asked me if I liked Riku more than a friend?"

"Yeah?"

"I do not," she said firmly. "I never have and I'm quite sure now I never will. I actually think I'm liking him less and less with every time he is around."

I tried not to look too happy. "I-"

"And… what I really want to say," she said, rubbing her hands together as she threw Riku a last glance. "This doesn't mean anything. It really doesn't."

"Kairi," I said, tucking a lost strand back behind her ears, her eyes wide. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. You shouldn't force yourself to-"

Riku blew the horn once more, rolling open his window. "Kairi! Let's go!"

"Right, right," she breathed. "Can I… will you be staying late?"

"I think so," I rubbed the back of my neck. "Why?"

"N-Nothing really," she seemed really unhappy with herself. "Just wondering."

"Come on," I said gently. "Before he gets out of the car and rips my throat."

"That will be a problem, indeed," she said, laughing a little. "See you tonight, Roxas."

"See you tonight, Kairi," I said, smiling a little bit.

* * *

><p>"Just for your information," I said, narrowing my eyes as I stared in the pot. "This looks terrible."<p>

"Shut up," Axel said, as he slapped me away. "You will eat this, whether you like it or not."

"I want your sister to cook," I whined. "This even smells like death."

"Oh, come on," Axel said, trying to stir the black mass in the pot. "This is… this is not so bad, right?"

"It is. You're trying to poison me, aren't you?"

"No!"

"Then let's go get some fast food before we all die."

"You're a horrible friend, you know that?"

* * *

><p>"This is very juck-y," Vanitas commented, sticking his finger in the black mass that had appeared on his plate.<p>

"Extremelyelyely juck-y," Sora nodded, shoving his plate away.

Axel was breathing hard like an annoyed bull and he slammed his fist on the table. "You will all eat this, without complaining! All of you!"

"But we want mommy's food," Sora said, pouting as he shrunk away from Axel.

"This is no food for a pirate," Vanitas said, proud that he had come up with a 'valid' excuse.

"Pirates have even worse food," I said, pointing my fork at him. "They haven't got any food, or dry biscuits, with insects all over it."

"EWW!" Sora burst out, shaking his head. "That is horrible!"

Vanitas frowned at me. "Roxy! That's not true! Pirates have… they have like… like chicken nuggets! And-and lots of fries!"

"And a M-sign on top of the ship, right," I said, laughing. "C'mon, let's respect Axel and try to eat this."

"You're all just whining," Axel said, scoffing at us as he moved a huge amount of a black sticky lump into his mouth.

"That's very brave of you, Axel," I commented. "Nice going."

We all watched as Axel coughed it up and started to retch a little. "Oh my God, this is… nope."

"See?!" Vanitas exclaimed. "Can we have fries?"

Axel rubbed at his mouth as he stared in horror at his plate. "I didn't even… yech!"

"My thoughts exactly," I deadpanned. "What now?"

"Kairi's not gonna like it that we took them to McDonalds," Axel said, running a hand through his hair.

"Like she's gonna like it when you've poisoned us all," I said laughing. "It'll be my treat, because I'm such a horrible friend and made monsters out of your own siblings."

"That's true," Axel said with a smirk. "It's all your fault. I'll blame you when she comes home."

"You better blame me," I said brightly. "Now, let's go."

"Can we have ice-cream?" Sora and Vanitas chanted in unison.

"No," Axel said at the same time as I said: "Yes."

We gave each other a look when the kids burst out into laughter. "Axy, you're so stupid," Vanitas said as he jumped off his chair to grab my leg. "Roxy is very sweet! And cool! And nice!"

"Yes, yes," Sora clapped his hands. "Roxy gives us all the ice-cream we want."

"Yeah, isn't he dreamy?" Axel grumbled, standing up as well. "Damnit, Roxas!"

I picked the two of them up and raised my brow. "What was that? Oh, you didn't want a hamburger? Well, in that case, it'll be just the three of us, right? Bon appetite. I'm sure your delicious meal will taste wonderful."

Sora raised his hands in the air as he cheered.

"You're all horrible," Axel muttered under his breath. Sighing, he chuckled. "All right, I'm not the one to spoil the party! Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"They sure behaved okay," Axel said as we sat down on the couch.<p>

We had been out to grab ourselves something of the McDonalds and we played Mario Kart like we promised.

"They did," I agreed, running a hand through my hair lazily. "We did have to chase them off to bed, though."

"That's not gonna stop until they're seventeen and sleeping with a girl," Axel snickered.

"Like you slept with a girl when you were seventeen," I said laughing, giving him a push.

"Shut up, I slept with a million of girls because I'm so handsome," Axel snorted, whacking my head.

I laughed and raised a brow in a suggestive manner. "Oh, right. Does that include that special lady friend of yours?"

He flushed and crossed his arms. "No, no… we never became more than like… friends."

"Ouch. Friendzone," I said, shaking my head. "You never even tried to get out of it, did you?"

Oh, come on, it's an accurate guess.

"No," Axel said, a little embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. "But you know, it's kinda tough to focus on such things when you're you know… head of the family and all…"

"Even with Riku around?"

He snorted. "Like I'd let Riku boss around. This is my home, my family and he's just… there," he added a little bit unhappy. "I think he goes just as fast as he came. I still hope for it to happen."

"Right," I said, staring off in the distance. "I hope so as well."

"You're not particularly fond of him either, eh?" Axel said, smirking. "Although he's never been rude to you."

"I work with him, that's rude enough."

"Cut the crap, man, did he steal your lunch munny too?"

I laughed. "Oh, no, I have never seen him before I came here."

"Right," Axel said, tapping his chin. "That's true. Then you don't have a reason to hate him, right?"

"He's mean to the kids," I answered immediately. I wasn't even lying.

"All right, you got a point," Axel said, getting up to set up his game console. "Though the kids are mean to him as well."

"We're all mean to each other, that's the point," I snickered as he huffed.

"I'm not mean to you!"

"Yes you are," I said, taking a controller. "You're kicking my ass every time we play a game and then you want to do it a hundred times over again. No, that's really just nice."

"You're just terrible!"

"You're just a macho," I said laughing.

"You know," he said as he sat back. "Perhaps that's why I've been friend zoned!"

"For real?"

"It might be," he defended himself. "I mean, I come off like a badboy, you know, and girls want safety!"

"A badboy, you?" I said, laughing even more. "Look, you do come off like a bit of a trouble maker, but a badboy? Riku's more the type for that."

"All right, all right, but it sounds more manly to be a bad guy instead of being the one with the two Terrors stuck to his legs."

"I don't think," I said honestly. "That the fact that you always have the twins around you makes you less of a man."

"You think?"

"Yeah," I replied reassuringly. "Look, you're responsible, you're safe. You can take care of two little kids, which means you would make a great dad one day. To someone who's looking for commitment, that's a great perspective."

"That's right," Axel said a bit happier. "Though I think Larxene goes for the bad guy vibe."

"Larxene?" I said, my jaw dropping. "No. No, you don't mean-"

He blushed. "Kind of that Larxene, yes."

"You've got guts," I said, amazed. "Oh my God, that's the most- Well… good luck, man. You need it."

"Hey, hey," Axel said, smiling a little bit. "I told you she's a lady friend. She's my friend already. It can't be too hard to give a little push to the love side right?"

"Probably not," I said, even though still a little bit shocked. "Though we're talking about Larxene. It could be instant death as well."

"That's my goal," he said seriously again, ignoring my last comment. "I've waited two years, and my feelings are still there. Then it's real. It's there."

"The fact that you fell for her, of all people, is already enough confirmation," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "But hey, there are weirder things on this planet."

"Oh, come on, she isn't so bad!" Axel said brightly. "Besides, think about it: if I'm the only one capable of loving her, it's meant to be and I don't have much to worry about when it comes to other men."

"You've got a point," I said laughing as he started the game.

I glanced at the clock.

She could be home anytime now.

I felt really bad for her; she had been so reluctant to go.

She had said that this night meant nothing to her; that she did this for Axel.

That she actually did it because we messed up with the twins, she would never find out, but she didn't do this because she was enjoying Riku's company.

In fact, she was liking him less and less. Why? She did start to feel more comfortable around him when I first arrived.

All I could do was hope. I hoped that she felt something towards me too.

I would be lying if I denied it; I would lie if I said my heart didn't beat any faster whenever I went to ring the bell at this doorstep.

I would lie if I said I never dreamed about her, because she was there every night.

I would lie if I said she was never on my mind; I thought about her all day. All night.

It was all a lie that I pretended to be here just because I was friends with Axel.

I did cherish our friendship, but I wouldn't come over every single day and I wouldn't constantly be bending my neck in awkward positions just to catch a glimpse of her.

I could only hope she felt that way, and by the things she said before she left, my chances were high.

And then the front door slammed.

* * *

><p>"Welcome home," Axel said to the figure in the hallway. "How was it?"<p>

We turned to face the shadow heading our way, her head down and a hand pressed against her ear.

She was soaked to the bone, her red hair dripping and her clothes clinging to her body. As she looked up, we could see the black stains on her cheeks.

"It was just like I expected," she said tiredly.

"Oh my God, Kairi!" Axel said, jumping up, looking around.

I sprinted towards the bathroom to grab some towels as Axel moved her to the kitchen to get her a hot beverage.

"Thanks," she said, taking over the towels with a grateful look. "You guys are really sweet."

"What did the asshole do now?" Axel said, looking angry. "Why did I even talk you into this?"

"It's nothing, Axel," Kairi said, waving her hand a little. "It was just so bad because I kept thinking about other things and it made me feel horrible about me being with him. And then we got in a fight and I decided I'd walk home."

"You could've called," I said with a concerned tone. "We could've picked you up."

"That's right," Axel said, nodding fervently. "Kairi, I promise you, I will never force you to go out with dicks again! I just… I thought it went okay last time."

"It did," she said, drying her hair with the towel. "But things were different last time."

"What changed?" Axel said, a bit confused. "It's been weeks, right?"

"I just…" Kairi sighed, staring at a corner in the room. "It's hard to tell. Let's just say that being with Riku doesn't feel right anymore and not at all."

"So, what now?" Axel asked, frowning.

"We're never going to see him again," Kairi said firmly, standing up. "Look, I'm going to change and then I'll go to bed. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Axel and I said in unison as she left the room.

"She's still upset, isn't she?" Axel said, crossing his arms.

"Yes," I said, my stomach sinking to my feet. "She's still upset."

He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I'm such an idiot," he muttered under his breath.

"We all are," I said, feeling glum as I remembered her standing like a drowned cat in the doorway.

I made an internal promise to never let that happen again.

Starting now.

* * *

><p>"Kairi?"<p>

There were three gentle knocks on the door as I lifted my head from my hands.

It wasn't Axel's voice, because his was much more booming, like dad's.

This was _his _voice, as I could feel the goosebumps everywhere, even in my brain.

"Yes?"

He opened the door softly. He didn't want to wake the twins, the sweet-heart.

His face was serious, the calm, relaxed smile I was used to was nowhere to be seen.

"I thought you'd gone home," I said, turning away and rubbing frantically at my face, knowing it was red, swollen and puffy.

"I'm going to," he said a little miserably. "I can leave now if you'd rather-"

"Oh no," I said, a bit too quickly. "I just… I didn't expect you."

"Ah," he said, a relieved smile on his face. "I just… I'm so sorry…"

Yes, it had been a disaster.

I couldn't stop thinking about _him. _Usually, whenever Riku smiled, or touched me, it would not make me overexcited with happiness, but I would enjoy it, somewhere deep down.

But now, I kept replacing Riku in my head with _him, _only to be disappointed because it remained Riku; all the smiles, touches, words were Riku's, not _his_.

How much I wished to be with _him. _Someone who looked in my eyes with those stunningly crystal eyes instead of glancing slyly at my boobs all the time.

Someone who could laugh with me, without feeling the need to laugh along because I would feel better if he did.

Someone who understood me, who made me feel warm and happy inside, instead of draining all of my energy.

From the moment I'd said 'yes' to Axel to set me up with him one more time, I knew it wasn't Riku.

It was never going to be Riku, because it was already someone else.

"Kairi?"

He was much closer now, the worried look back in his eyes as he cocked his head a little to the side.

"Oh," I gasped. "I'm sorry, I spaced out."

"I noticed," he stated, though he was still gentle. "What really happened?" he asked as he bent down through his knees, like he always did when he talked to the twins.

Oh God, they liked him so much.

I liked him so much. He won us all over within minutes.

I tried to tell him. I did, when we stood there in front of my house.

I just couldn't get the words get across.

I should tell him now.

"Roxas," I took a deep breath, looking in those crystalized oceans that made me feel so calm and nervous at the same time.

"Yeah?"

A little shiver ran through my spine as I felt my inner-coward return.

"Thanks."

"For what?" I heard him say. I couldn't find the strength to look him in the eyes.

"For everything. You're…" You're amazing. You're everything. You're everything I've ever looked for in a guy.

Yes. I had never been in love. Yes, I had taken a certain kind of liking for Riku, but it was nothing compared the shockwave of feelings Roxas had started in me.

That moment, when I had sprinted downstairs to ask Axel whether he had seen my trousers and instead got to gaze into his eyes, I was lost and found at the same time.

Yes. I was in love with Roxas.

Yes, I wasn't sure whether I should follow 'my heart' or stick to the logical thought that the twins needed me.

I couldn't become irresponsible just because this guy…

One of his cool fingers lifted my chin upwards, to face him.

His soft touch made my skin burn even more, my eyes wide.

Roxas narrowed his eyes as he studied my face. "You're spacing off a lot," he commented, raising a brow. "Do Axel and I need to kill Riku?"

I couldn't stop the laugh. It was just… he really was my brother's friend, my big brother's friend.

They were both talking like that, like they were a team.

And they would wipe Riku of the face of Earth, just because… hey, they were a team and that's what they wanted because the little sister was hurt.

Silly boys.

"No, you don't have to kill Riku," I said, disappointed when his cool touch left my face. "It's just… this whole evening gave me a lot to think about."

"Like what?" he demanded. "You seemed really upset."

"Did Axel sent you?" I said, feeling a little suspicious.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he chuckled a bit. "It's true he wanted to check on you but he was afraid you'd be having a… mental breakdown or anything like that. So he was kind of reluctant of going. But he didn't send me," he said with smile. "I sent myself."

"So," he said after a while, in which I tried not to grin like an idiot. He came for me. "What's up?"

I frowned and stared at my hands. "I just couldn't do it. I-… I…" I was picturing you. I wished it was you. I felt like I was betraying you.

"I told you it meant nothing," I mumbled. "It didn't mean anything. It meant something for him and he wanted me to feel the same. I didn't feel the same. So it didn't work."

"Then why are you so upset?" Roxas said in a friendly tone.

"Because he got mad," I said, looking back at him. He was so close, it made my skin tingle.

I just kind of hoped he'd move up, his lips against my throat, and higher, higher, higher until his lips would brush against mine…

My heart pounded in my throat and I had to swallow to keep it down.

"What did you tell him?"

No, he was not going to do that, silly me.

Or was he?

His gaze was fierce, piercing right through my skin, right into my soul.

It was as if my thought was reflected in his eyes and I was tingling all over.

"I told him I was in love with someone else," it came out before I realized. I did realize afterwards though.

That kept me from saying: "with you, in fact."

"Oh," he said, sounding surprised and… hopeful?

No, I was just projecting my own feelings on his face. Silly me.

"I can imagine it'd be hard then," he said, thinking out loud as he stood up. "No wonder he got mad, though."

"Why?"

He gave me a strange, knowing smile. "It's not something you'd want, right? Seeing the girl you'd want to spend forever with slip away through your fingers because of someone else."

"Yeah," I murmured. "Though I didn't want to spend eternity with him from the start."

I mimicked his movements and stood up as well.

I had told Riku in my fury that I was in love with Roxas, when he demanded who the bastard was whom I had fallen in love with.

I had also forced him not to say anything to anyone. I told him I would never feel something for him.

That maybe, perhaps, it'd be for the best if he didn't turn up at our house again.

But his rage was overwhelming. He was so angry; at me, at Roxas, at himself for thinking he'd got me hooked and at me because I had betrayed him somewhere.

It was frightening and I realized in that moment that he could've done anything when that anger was unleashed.

I thought I knew Riku; but tonight, I found out I had been blind. Who knew what he could've done with my family with my blinded sight. All because he was nice to me.

I tried not to think about the bruise on my arm, where he had grabbed me, shaking me, demanding why I acted so distant, demanding why I wasn't returning his touches, his smiles. Why I had turned away when he had tried to kiss me.

He could've… who knows what he could've…

The faces of my little brothers, Vanitas and Sora… oh God… I had been so stupid.

And before I knew it, I was crying again.

I sobbed into my hands, trying to get a proper 'sorry' across.

This wasn't something he should see.

He, however, was suddenly there, his arms pulling me closer to his chest.

"It's okay," his soothing voice said, the sound vibrating in his throat, humming through his chest.

This should've made me stop crying, but it was too much.

My hands took a hold of his shirt, keeping him close as I pressed my face against his neck, sobbing uncontrollably.

Everything came out. My frustration, the grief in my heart that I had locked away for so long, my confusion, the shyness, the happiness, the shock of realizing how irresponsible I had been.

One of his hands rested on the back of my head, keeping me in place, while his other hand made lazy movements from the base of my neck down to my lower back.

Even after I had calmed down, my eyes dry again, I kept my face hidden in his neck, closing my eyes as he continued stroking my back.

It just felt so nice, so comforting, that I'd wish I could stay like this forever.

But he realized soon enough that I wasn't crying anymore, so he took a little bit more distance to look at my face.

"I'm okay," I reassured him. "It's all okay now."

He grimaced a little. "You really sure?"

I nodded, carefully putting my fingers on his cheek. "I'm sure. Are you okay, though? You don't look so good."

He really didn't. He was pale and he looked like he was about to cry himself.

He shrugged it off. "I just don't like seeing you cry or being unhappy," he said curtly, looking away a little. "It makes me feel helpless," he added a little bit shy as he looked back at me, his eyes ever so warm.

Ah. Did I just melt? Oh, look, there I was, just a small puddle on the floor.

"I just thought you should know," I said gently, leaning on my tiptoes to give him a small kiss on his cheek. "That was really nice."

He chuckled a little, a slight blush warming up his face. He was really cute when he got shy.

Roxas suddenly realized he was still holding me and he let go of me, the blush growing stronger. "I-I'm glad," he said, his voice shaking a little. "I'm just happy that you're not that upset anymore."

We didn't exchange many words, but there was a tension between us as we got back into the living room.

"Ah, there is my sister," Axel said fondly as he saw me. "You look better and worse at the same time. Is that possible?"

I could swear I could feel Roxas's fingertips slowly graze my lower back, as a form of support.

It must've been my imagination.

* * *

><p>It was much later than I had anticipated.<p>

I was glad to see that the puffiness and the redness on Kairi's face started to fade and she was starting to laugh again.

I wouldn't have been able to sleep if I hadn't seen that, I was quite sure.

When I finally said goodbye, and Axel was going up for bed as he had to work early the next morning, Kairi walked me back to the front door.

I could feel the load of words that hadn't been said. It was a strange experience, but I had a feeling she had said more tonight than I had done.

She had told me she was in love with someone, someone that was not Riku. I couldn't help the selfish thought that it had to be me, as the other guys in Kairi's life were relatives, it seemed, at least.

I hadn't told her anything; She wasn't expecting anything, though, but it felt wrong to just leave without giving her a small glimpse into my thoughts, my feelings.

It had broken my heart to see her cry like that, her shoulders shuddering with the weight of the world on her fragile figure.

A look of devastating sadness on her face as she tried to hide, tried to shield herself from whatever reaction she was expecting.

This was never going to happen again. I wouldn't let anyone hurt her this much again.

"Roxas?"

"Hmm?" I said, looking back at her face as she smiled a little at me.

"You're the one spacing off right now," she said shyly. "What are you thinking about?"

"About tonight," I said vaguely. "About you, really."

That was fair; I just had to take a shot, even though she had been hurt by Riku. I still wanted to know what the bastard said to her or did to her that made her this upset.

"I-I see," she said, looking away. It was hard to tell if she was blushing in this light. I guessed not.

"I… I'll be off," I said a bit helplessly. "Will you be all right?"

She nodded quickly, her gaze back on me. "Of course. Will you be back soon?"

I grinned as I winked. "Of course. I have never stayed away for too long, now have I?"

She laughed along, folding her hands behind her back as she gave me a shy look. "No, you haven't. You're pretty loyal."

"Like a Labrador," I said easily, giving her a grin. "All right, I'll see you soon, Kairi."

She nodded, smiling at me. "Good night, Roxas."

I just had to test my luck as I leaned forward to press my lips against her forehead. Just once.

Her eyes were wide as she looked up at me.

"Good night, Kairi," I said softly as I started to walk towards the street.

"Oh," I added, turning around to look at her, still standing in the doorway, her fingertips against her forehead. "I just thought you should know…"

I paused, took a deep breath and then smiled at her. "Next time, we will go out together instead."

With that, I turned back to continue my walk home, my heart beating so fast I could run miles and miles without stopping.

This was it; I had taken the step into the abyss or the invisible bridge. I had no idea if I was going to fall down and crush all my bones into oblivion or if the bridge was there, like I believed, and it would hold me in the air to lead me straight into her arms.

There was no turning back, but she had given me hope I had done something good today.

Axel would still kill me, but there was a chance he would approve.

Call me the gambler. I was done with the low risk method.

It was everything or nothing.

We would see.

We would see.

* * *

><p><strong>I just thought you should know...<strong>

**This chapter is significantly longer than the others, but as you might've noticed, the tables have turned. **

**Thanks for reading! **

**Lots of love,**

**your author**


	13. Well, That's Awkward!

**_Roses are red, terrors are… blue?_**

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<br>_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Thirteen<br>Well, that's awkward!_**

* * *

><p>"Roxas! Wake up! There's someone here for you!"<p>

My mom knocked twice on the door, two urgent knocks before she went downstairs.

It was probably Axel, that impatient bastard.

Grumbling, I threw the blankets off me and yawned, looking at the clock. It was only eight in the morning. What was the idiot thinking?!

Putting on my clothes, just in case the fool was about to drag me off to somewhere unknown again, I decided it was best to make him wait a little longer now instead of later.

Coming down the stairs, still yawning, I came to an abrupt halt when I saw that the one waiting for me downstairs was not at all Axel.

It was his sister.

"Kairi!" I was quick to close my mouth and quicken my pace so I stood next to her. "Is something wrong?"

"Hello, Roxas," she said, a faint reddish tint on her face, her blue eyes wide. "No, nothing is wrong at all," she reassured me. "I just wanted to talk to you."

So early? I couldn't help but feel nervous. Was this the famous 'we have to talk' speech?

"It's nothing serious," she said again when she saw my worried face. "Or… it is, but it's nothing bad, I suppose."

Over her shoulder, I saw my mother's curious face. She saw me looking and she winked, moving away from the doorway.

"I-I'm really sorry to intrude like this," Kairi said, a little fidgety. "I-I just thought that I'd… that I needed to confront you as soon as possible."

_"Next time, we will go out together instead!" _

Ah.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "S-Sure."

How come I was so confident then? Where did I manage to pull that courage from?

She was bright red as she gestured at the door. "Wanna go for a walk?"

"Yeah. Let me get my keys," I said, walking back to the living room, glad to have something to do.

She was silent until I closed the door behind us.

"Roxas, I… I know I should've-"

I gave her a smile, tucking a strand of her hair behind her hair. "Hey. Calm down. It's just me."

She blinked a couple of times, her eyes wide.

"But-"

I chuckled as we started to walk. "Hey, remember when you came home yesterday? I totally forgot to tell you I took the kids to the McDonalds."

"Wait, you did?!" Kairi said, turning to me, frowning a little.

"See?" I said, very sure that I had vanquished my own chances with this amazing girl.

She then burst into laughter, a carefree, bubbling laughter that took my breath away, my grin widening. "I figured that much. They were walking around with figurines that had McDonalds written all over it. Axel wouldn't say a word, though."

"Of course not, he said you'd kill me," I said, nudging her a little.

"What else did you expect," Kairi said teasingly. Even if I had killed my chances, she had calmed down and that had been my main objective.

She then sighed as we walked down the road that headed to the park. "You know, I had this all planned out last night."

"What exactly?"

"Roxas," she looked away. "You have been with us for quite some time now, right?"

"Yeah," I said, putting my hands in my pockets. "It's been a while."

She gave me a smile. "I told you before that we've all been alone a lot. We've been there for each other, but it's not always ideal. Van and Sora have each other, but Axel's and I differ a lot sometimes."

She was still looking away, her eyes distant as she was thinking. I just wish I could read her thoughts off her fair skin.

"And then Riku came along and I befriended Olette and you know, I got my life on the rails again. And with you, Axel did too."

I wasn't sure how to react to this. I had heard this before and I was not quite sure where this was going or if she even expected me to answer.

She didn't, apparently, because she continued.

"But with you… things changed for me," she added softly. "I… I wanted to tell you this before, but I kind of… didn't."

We were at the entrance of the park, the trees tall and the breeze blowing the leaves of fall around us. Time sure went on fast.

"Roxas… what you told me last night… I… I couldn't help but wonder… was it for real? Or were you just trying to comfort me?"

I turned to her, all superficialness cast aside. I had been confident last night. I wasn't so much right now.

But a man finishes what he's started. As told by… my dad.

"It was for real," I said, looking into the blue depths of her eyes.

"So you actually wanted to… go out with me?"

"Yeah," I said, trying not to breathe, though my entire body seemed to tingle all over.

She looked away again a little before looking back, smiling brightly.

"I want to go out with you as well."

She seemed so radiant, standing there in front of me, her hair moving in the strong autumn wind, her smile unwavering.

"I'm glad," I breathed, not quite sure she heard it. I was relieved she hadn't said no.

"But I want to say more than just that," she said, running a hand through her hair as we moved towards a bench. "You're right. It's just you. It has just been you all along."

"Yeah," I said, leaning back as we watched some neighborhood kids play on the swings.

She folded her hands together in her lap. "I've changed a lot since the accident. I had to, really. I had always been carefree, always been content and happy. When… when my parents died… I was left empty-handed with a lot of worries. I thought I'd never be carefree again. That I'd never just be happy again."

"Kairi…"

"But I had to change. I needed to get everyone back on track, make the event less of a trauma for Vanitas and Sora. I did what I had to do. It just cost me my social life. My carefree friends… my crush from that time," she chuckled gently. "Everything became different. I… became a mom for my own siblings. I was responsible for them, I couldn't just stay out until late with friends or make out in my room while my two little brothers were playing around. I never did those things either way, so I don't miss them. They even stopped crossing my mind."

"You did beautifully," I said softly. "You really did."

"Thanks," she said, looking back at me, blushing a bit. "I've just done what was right at that time."

She sighed, leaning back into the bench. "You know, I got used to it. Doing the household, take care of the twins, take care of my older brother, work and even managed to read a book once in a while. I grew into my role as caretaker."

"It was a necessity," I said, resting my arms on the backrest.

"Yeah," she said, giving me a warm look. "It was a necessity. Until you came along."

I looked at her feet, who were so close to mine. Perhaps she had always been closer to me than I thought she was.

"The kids have become so important to me, even though they're not my own, they feel that way. That's why they're calling me 'mom' and that's why I never told them otherwise. Perhaps it's wrong, perhaps it's strange, but… they need a mother and I'm in the position to grant them a mother they won't ever have again. I'm the closest relative who represents mom. Riku… Riku sure was charming to me. He flattered me in every single way possible, but… I'm past the phase in which I could be won over with sheer superficiality. The kids didn't like him that much and if anyone comes first, it's them."

She was quiet for a moment, looking at the children on the swings, yelling and shouting, big grins on their faces as their scarfs and coats moved in the wind.

"But you… you had them wrapped around your finger. You started to mean something big to Axel. You started to play a major part in the twin's life. I've told you that before, but I never told you that you started to change something in me too. I should've told you earlier."

One of the kids fell and started to cry. A mom rushed towards him, pulling him up, checking for injuries and kissed him better, drying his tears.

"I suddenly became aware of my… of myself again. That I… That I was something else besides the mom. I was, besides all the responsibility, someone else. You… you made me realize that I could be carefree again, that I could be happy again. Being with you is so easy and it makes me feel so good. I… I… I think… I think I've fallen in… love with you."

She did not look at me, her cheeks bright red and her fists clenched.

"Hey."

She turned back to me, though she didn't look me in the eye.

I gently cupped her face in my hands. "I think I've fallen in love with you as well."

Her eyes shot back to mine in an instant, a breathy laugh coming over her lips. "Really?"

"Really."

"Even though I have to take care of the kids and-"

"I love you."

Her face lit up, her hands keeping mine in place as her deep blue eyes became a bit lighter blue with fresh, salty water.

I wiped at the tears with my thumbs, not questioning them.

"I'm sorry," she stammered. "I'm just… so happy. I… This… I've never felt like this before and… and I'm so happy… that you feel that way too."

"You've won me over from the start," I said with a grin, resting my forehead against hers.

She smiled at first, but then she remembered our first encounter.

"You pervert!"

* * *

><p>The kids had gone home as it became a little bit more dark. Kairi was leaning against me, my arm around her shoulder.<p>

"Roxas?"

"Hmmm?"

"I don't know… I don't really want to tell Axel."

"Me neither," I deadpanned. "He'll kill me."

"No, he won't… okay… perhaps a little."

I looked at her, pressing a kiss on top of her head.

"I'm not really sure where we go from here either," Kairi said, a bit flushed as she looked up at me. "We know how we feel, but how we're going to move on from here… I just… don't really know."

"Let's just keep this between us for now," I said, pulling her close. "We can always figure out later what to do."

"That's right," Kairi said, satisfied as she closed her eyes. "We should head home now. Axel's probably pissed off by now. He always gets like that when he has to take care of the kids for so long."

"Yeah, we should get going," I said, regretfully letting her go as I stood up as she followed my movements.

"You're coming too, right?"

"Of course," I said, grinning at her. "I can't leave my girlfriend alone, now can I?"

"G-girlfriend?" she said, a shy smile on her face. "So… you're my boyfriend?"

"Yes, I guess I am," I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "I'd rather not be your gay best friend, if you please."

She burst out into laughter as she wrapped her arms around my neck. "No, you're not."

"So, do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."

It would never tire me to hear her say that.

* * *

><p>"Where were you?- Oh, you brought Roxas," Axel said relieved as he saw us in front of the door. "Come in, it's freezing out there."<p>

"Where are the twins?" Kairi asked, taking of her coat. "Are they all right?"

"They're watching Winnie the Pooh," Axel said. "I finally got them to silently watch. They're monsters. Which brings me to you."

"What did I do?"

"You left without a note!"

"I left a note on the kitchen table!" Kairi said indignant, crossing her arms. "I can't help it that you're so blind."

"Oh," Axel said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Heh. Didn't check there."

"Next time, I'll staple it to your face," Kairi said, huffing as she moved past him.

"Mommy!" The twins hurried towards her, hugging her legs. "Mommy's back!"

"So, how about we go upstairs to my room and play Guitar Hero or something?" Axel said, nudging me as I was still staring at Kairi, who was greeting the twins.

"Hmm? Yeah, sure."

"Daddy!"

We all turned to the twins at once. They had a happy look on their face as they came towards Axel and me.

"Wait, what?" Axel deadpanned, staring at his two little brothers. "Who?"

Kairi gave them a confused look as well, staring at them like they'd gone insane.

Their answer was loud and clear as they clambered up my legs.

"Daddy!"

Well, that was awkward.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading and commenting :) <strong>


	14. A Treasure Hunt

**_Roses are red, terrors are… blue?_**

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Fourteen<br>A Treasure Hunt_**

* * *

><p>"I still don't get why they call <em>you <em>'dad'," Axel said, leaning back into the couch, giving me a strange look.

"Look, Axel, do I look like I hold the answers to all of your questions?" I replied with a raised brow. "Give me a break!"

"It's weird! They've known me and Riku longer, yet they call you, out of all people, 'dad'. It's suspicious."

"And why is that?" I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "They could've called your neighbor 'dad' for all you know."

"But they call Kairi mom. Dad implies that… you're hooking up with my sister," Axel said thoughtfully. "I dunno man, it just seems weird."

I tried not to flush as I stood up with a little bit more force than I had to, knocking the small table over in front of me. "It is weird. Shall I get us something to drink?"

"Sure," Axel said, rubbing his chin in suspicion as he stared at the frozen screen.

I breathed out in relief when I entered the kitchen. I had been fearing for my life every single moment this day.

Everything changed so rapidly since yesterday. Kairi who liked me back, the twins calling me '_dad_'…

"Hey," Two slim arms wrapped around my waist, a warm body pressed against me.

"Kairi," I gasped, spinning around. "Watch out! Axel might be watching!"

She turned her head a little before she smiled at me. "He's not. I promise."

I eased a little into her touch. "Hey," I said gently, wrapping my arms around her. "It's good to see you again."

Suddenly, two pair stomping feet came barging down the staircase.

The Terrors came into the kitchen as Kairi and I let each other go as if struck by lightning.

"Hey, Sora, Vanitas," I said, rubbing the back of my neck as Kairi went to the stove to prepare soup for lunch.

"Daddy!" Sora said enthusiastically as he came to tug at my jeans. "Daddy, come play with us!"

Axel had come to the kitchen as well, but he frowned as he heard the 'daddy' phrase again.

"What's with the 'daddy' thing anyway," he asked the twins, a bit annoyed. "What happened with 'Roxy'?"

"But," Sora said innocently. "Roxy is daddy."

Vanitas nodded. "Yeah, Roxy's your daddy too, Axy."

Axel's left eye twitched. "What?"

"Axel, let the children be," Kairi hushed, walking up to him to rub his shoulder. "It's not gonna last that long, any-"

"They've called you 'mom' for the last two years!"

"They'll be going to school in a few months and-"

"But-"

"Axy," Vanitas said, putting his hands on his hips. "You're just jealoes."

"I'm a what?"

"Jealoes," Sora said, fumbling with the word. "You're just silly."

"I'm not jealous! I just think you two are weird!"

"You tell 'em, Axe," I said, giving him the thumbs up.

"Shut up you," Axel said, though he started to grin. "Ah well, I don't wanna be a dad anyway."

"That's because you're Axy!" Sora chirped, running circles around the kitchen table.

"Daddy? Are you coming to play with us?" Vanitas asked, clambering up the chair to tug at my sleeve.

"Axy can come too if he stops whining," Sora added with his grin. "Pretty please?"

"Whining?! You little-"

"Axel!"

"Fine," Axel said sweetly. "I will come too. But you get no cookies!"

"Mommy will give them to us, so that's okay," Vanitas shrugged it off with that much ease that it left Axel with his jaw on his toes.

"They're growing up, Axe," I said laughing. "All right! Let's do a treasure hunt!"

Sora clapped in his hands. "That seems fun!"

Vanitas laughed happily. "Mommy, mommy! Will you play along?"

She glanced at the empty pot and then at the pleading puppy eyes of her siblings and finally at me.

"All right, I'll play along!"

"Jay!" Sora sang in a high pitched voice he'd probably lose in his teenager years. "Let's do a treasure hunt!"

"Okay," I said, getting on my knees. "You two keep mommy and Axel busy, then I'll prepare the treasure hunt, okay?"

Vanitas nodded. "Yes, sir! C'mon, Sora!"

"Aye, Captain," Sora chirped as he clung to Axel's legs. "Axy! Axy! Axy! Axy! Axy! Pick me up! Pick me up! Pick me up!"

"Are you for real?"

"REALLY REALLY REALLY REAL!"

* * *

><p>Axel ran a hand through his hair, still looking a bit annoyed.<p>

"Axel, are you really this annoyed about the fact they call Roxas 'daddy'?"

He shrugged. "No, if anyone should be called 'dad' here it should be him. But it's just… Kairi, they call you mom. The fact they call him dad means they link him to… you and I just… don't want to see him that way. He's my best friend, not my… sister's… partner. Or something."

Oh dear.

I had feared for this the moment I started to feel those pleasant tingles in my stomach.

He was so different from any other guy. Riku was focussed on the girly side in me which I had forgotten I had.

I wasn't just a girl that would swoon over his handsome looks and his smoldering eyes.

I had been turned into a responsible woman.

Roxas was different. He came here for Axel, but every time he came here, he put up with the twins without complaining, he was so nice to me, even though I was just the sister and even though the kids could be horrors.

Riku had never been nice to the twins and never truly been nice for Axel; he had one main objective.

Roxas never had an objective. He was a friend.

That was my problem. I shouldn't really have fallen for him because he was Axel's friend. But he was just so involved.

His calm features, his clear crystal blue eyes, his windswept blonde hair. He truly was an angel and even when I thought I'd lose it with all the tasks and chores, he was there to help out.

I just felt so strongly connected with him; as if he was my 'missing' link. He belonged to my side and I belonged to him.

He made me glow inside, made me feel happy, content and alive. Made me sparkle with energy and he made me feel so beloved…

The only downside about this was… Axel. I didn't want to come in between his friendship with Roxas, but it was tough to keep myself out of the game whenever he came over.

"I know that," I said, putting my arm on his shoulder. "But he still is your best friend. They just like him so much that they consider him as a dad. That doesn't specifically mean that they connect him to me."

"If you say so," he sighed, smiling though. "It's true that he's nice to them, isn't he?"

"He is," I admitted with my entire heart. "He really is."

"Mommy, he takes too long!" Vanitas complained, while wrapping his arms around my leg. "Why does daddy take so long?!"

"He has to put up an entire treasure hunt, honey," I said in a calming tone. "He won't be too long."

"Daddy's really cool," Sora nodded, leaning against Axel's chest. "Just like Axy."

Axel pressed a soft kiss on top of Sora's head. "Of course, Sora. We're all really cool."

Roxas re-appeared back in the doorway. "All right, I'm done."

"That was fast!" Axel said, his eyes wide with surprise. "Were you planning this?"

"I was kind of prepared," Roxas chuckled as the kids ran up to him. "You guys ready for this?"

"YES!"

"Good," he said, looking back to Axel and giving me a wink. "You guys too?"

"All set," Axel said, standing up and rubbing his hands. "Let's see what you had in mind, Roxy-boo."

"Let's look for clues," I said to Sora, who had taken my hand and who looked up to me with excitement bubbling on his face. "Have you seen something, Sora?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pointing to a pile of stuffed toys in the corner of the hallway, the elephant pointing towards the living room.

"Well done, Sora!" Axel said as Vanitas and Sora marched into the living room. "Let's see what we find there!"

I laughed as I saw him roll his eyes at Roxas and heard his whisper towards my boyfriend. "That was too obvious man."

Roxas just laughed it off when I suddenly saw something in the corner of my eye.

It was a very small piece of paper, subtly hidden between the flowers in the vase. A small heart was drawn on it and the piece pointed upstairs.

I gave Roxas a surprised look, but everyone was way ahead of me, the twins screaming when they found the next clue.

Curiosity almost took the best of me, but I refrained myself. There was time for investigating later.

* * *

><p>"Look! There's a scroll!" Vanitas yelled as we had walked in circles in the living room, looking for other clues.<p>

Axel launched forward and grabbed it. "Whoa, slow down, you two! I'm the one who can read here!"

"Mommy can read too," Sora stated, pointing to Kairi, who was a little quiet.

I hoped that she had seen the hint. I had organized two treasure hunts and it'd be a shame if I hit the clue too well.

"Daddy can read too," Vanitas added, trying to reach for the scroll. "And by today, I can read too!"

"No, I'm reading it," Axel said, trying to keep the screaming toddler low. "So hush or else you'll miss the clue!"

"You're mean!" Sora pouted, tugging at his jeans. "Axy!"

"Guys, just let him read," Kairi said laughing, standing a bit closer to me as I carefully moved my arm a bit around her; just enough to touch her back and enough for her to lean into me and just enough cover for Axel not to discover us.

"All right, I'm reading it," Axel said, clearing his throat. "Look for the treasure and you will find, that, after a whole search you must be outside. This old pirate is way too kind, for he left his treasure for all of you, but only if you are very bright."

"We're bright!" Sora quickly said, letting go of Axel's leg to run up to the back door. "C'mon, Vani! We must find the old pirate's treasure before someone else does!"

Vanitas gasped. "Oh no! The dog from Yuffie will eat it!"

"That'd be horrible!" Axel said, shuddering. "That dog is an abomination to humankind even without being in our backyard already!"

"Axy! Let's go get the treasure!" Vanitas ordered, pointing to the door.

When the door finally opened and the two boys launched themselves into the garden, Axel sighed. "I was never really good at reading maps, thanks Rox."

* * *

><p>I lingered a bit as my two younger siblings ran around, passing the 'map' on and on, from Axel to Vanitas to Sora to Roxas and then back to Axel, who said he would be the man of the map.<p>

Then, they finally realized there was a small heap of stones in the corner of the yard with a wooden pirate ship on top of it.

"Ooooh, look!" Sora pointed, running towards it, Vanitas close on his heels.

"Great, we found it!" Axel said, sounding just as excited as his younger brothers. "Right. Now… now what?"

Roxas grinned widely, handing him a shovel. "Now it's up to you, mate."

"You're a -"

"Kids around," Roxas chanted, moving away to sit down on the grass, Vanitas and Sora joining him. "Now, chop chop, Axy-boo."

I was still wondering about that small note hidden between the flowers. Had it been my imagination or had Roxas really hidden something there?

That was kind of risky… if Axel ever came across it…

On the other hand, it probably was my imagination and if I had just barely noticed it, Axel surely would overlook it.

After a few minutes of intensive digging, Axel let out a shout. "Oh my God! I found something!"

The twins came circling around the hole, letting out screams of joy as Axel heaved up a real chest.

"Where did you find that?!" I murmured to Roxas, who had a proud look on his face.

"I did promise them I would bring a treasure, didn't I?" he said easily, grinning. "I had time enough to prepare."

"Look! Look! It's a dolphin!" Sora exclaimed, taking out a stuffed toy from the chest.

Vanitas let out a gasp when he raised an action figure. "Ooooh! It's Donald Duck!"

Axel chuckled as he sat down next to the chest, watching our brothers dive into the chest again as he wiped his brow, putting down the shovel.

"It has actually been mine," Roxas said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just thought it was better off with them."

"It's really sweet," I said wholeheartedly. "Are you sure you want to give it away like this?"

"Of course," Roxas replied, flashing me another smile that made my heart race. "We're family, aren't we?"

He then got occupied with Sora, who was bouncing around with Vanitas, wanting to give 'daddy' a tour through their newfound treasure.

Axel stood next to me, dusting off his knees. "Well, gotta say, the guy's creative."

I hummed in agreement, watching as Sora had managed to climb on top of Roxas's neck, pulling his hair again.

He struggled with the toddler for a while, Vanitas was hanging off his arm, laughing like he was having the time of his life.

"Should we rescue him?" I said as Axel put his hands in his pockets.

"Nah, he's fine. He's used to these things."

"Poor guy," I said, laughing a little. "What a good friend you are, to make him get used to this abuse."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… you're probably right," he chuckled. "Well, there we go," he added as he strode over to his friend and tried to get Sora off of Roxas's head.

It just resulted in Roxas trying to stop Vanitas from falling on the ground and trying to keep all of his hair attached while Sora clenched onto it like it was the last thing he would ever do. Axel kept tugging at Sora, trying to stifle his laughter as Roxas gave him a glare.

"Stop tugging! You're making it worse!"

"Just one more, he'll come off, I'm sure!"

"No, no, no!" Roxas exclaimed. "Vanitas! Don't you dare let go! Sora! Get off!"

I chuckled, moving closer. "Boys, boys, let him breathe, let him breathe," I said, gently prying Sora off Roxas, who then had his arms free to lift Vanitas up as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll be so bald by the time I'm twenty-five," he muttered under his breath, while Axel doubled over with laughter. "Stop laughing, you idiot!"

"Axy, will you make us pancakes? We don't want soup!" Vanitas pleaded, tugging at Axel's hand. "Please?!"

"Well all right," he said, grinning while looking at me. "We're all making pancakes. Then you can have some time for yourself, Kairi."

Good, because I had a thing or two to investigate.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so this package says that we have to mix this all in one bowl," Axel said, looking up from the package. "No! Van, what have you done?" Axel moaned as he saw that Van had covered himself in flour.<p>

Vanitas was laughing while I already tried to get him clean again while Sora was banging spoons on the pot. "Sora, stop that!" Axel said, taking the spoons away from him.

"Give 'em back!" Sora exclaimed, jumping on the ground to stomp his foot. "Axy, give them back to me!"

"Sora, don't yell," I said, still dusting Vanitas off. "Van, sit still!"

The twins, however, were very energetic as Axel tried to reason with Sora's tantrum. Which didn't work out that well.

Vanitas was finally a bit clean, meaning he didn't spread the flour throughout the entire kitchen. We would have to bathe him before he would go to bed, anyway.

"Sora, why don't you help us with the mixing?" I suggested, lifting him off the ground and putting him on the counters.

As soon as he had something to do, he forgot the spoons completely and Vanitas was eager to help as well.

"Well, that's going great, eh? _Dad_?" Axel said teasingly, nudging me.

"You still jealous, Axy-boo?"

He gave me a glare. "I hate it when you say it."

"Of course you do," I said, helping Vanitas off the counter as he wanted to get an apron. "Secretly, that's what you want your girlfriend to tell you."

"Larxene would never call me that!" Axel said, laughing. "Nope, absolutely not."

"But she isn't your girlfriend, is she? When she is, she will, I promise you."

"She's not my girlfriend and she probably never will," Axel said firmly, though he hid a smile.

"Why don't you ever ask her to come over?" I grinned. "I'm kind of curious right now."

He made a shrug that seemed promising. "Well, it's just… the twins, you know."

"Would she really mind?"

He gave me a thoughtful look. "I dunno, really."

"Then bring her in," I said, smirking. "No objections means she's in."

"Why're so persuasive?" he grumbled, though he was smiling too.

"Because I am _dad, _right?" I said, laughing as Vanitas and Sora started to bicker over which one of them was next on stirring the mixed stuff.

"Ah, right, I see," Axel said with a grin. "Yeah, yeah, that came in your contract as well."

I gave him a grin as we finally were able to bake the pancakes, having calmed down the kids, who were now contently watching how the butter was melting.

"Daddy, do you think mommy will like it?" Sora asked me, his bright blue eyes reminding me of his older sister.

"Of course mommy likes the pancakes," Axel said, laughing as he was cleaning Vanitas up.

But looking back at Sora's trademark grin, I knew he had asked for something else.

* * *

><p>It was a clue! It was indeed a very small piece of paper with a heart on it, a small arrow pointed upstairs.<p>

I put it in my pocket, moving upstairs. I heard rummaging and laughter in the kitchen, so I should be safe.

Just in front of my room, there was another piece of paper, with the identical small heart on it.

In my room, on my bed was a small rose and another, bigger piece of paper.

I felt my face glow and my smile was unbeatable.

I was never out of the game when he came over. He was subtle and ever so sweet.

When I unfolded the piece of paper, two reservation tickets fell out. Curiously, I picked them up, to see that we were going out for dinner together at an old restaurant that was actually a favorite of my parents when they used to date.

It was not a coincidence, that was not possible. He knew.

It was quite possible that he knew that the restaurant, Twilight's Moon, meant a lot to me.

A bit teary-eyed, I opened the paper.

_Saturday Night, eight on clock. I will pick you up. _

My heart jumped and a tear escaped my eye.

I was going out with Roxas this Saturday.

It was the best treasure he could've ever given me.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks so much for reading, everyone! :)<strong>

**I will be a bit busy with studying, so chapters might come a bit slower. Still, I want to thank you all for sticking by this story and thanks so much for reviewing! It makes me happy to know what you think of everything I write. **

**Lots of love,**

**Your author. **


	15. A Fortress of Love and a Red Rose

**_Roses are red, terrors are… blue?_**

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors.<em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Fifteen<br>A Fortress of Love and a Red Rose_**

* * *

><p>"I'd be lying if I said you looked good," I commented as Axel let me in. In fact, all I could see was the giant pit that had become Axel's face.<p>

He finished his yawn and rubbed his hair, which spiked everywhere. "I know. I had to be up early."

I was greeted by two cheers and was immediately tackled by Axel's little brothers.

"Hey guys!"

"Sora, Vanitas, let Roxas breathe," Axel said warningly to his siblings. "The poor guy just got in."

"But Axy," Sora pouted. "We want to play with Daddy!"

Vanitas agreed. "We missed Daddy!"

"Axel! I thought you promised to do the laundry today and-"

We all turned to see Kairi storming down the stairs, a stressed look on her face.

"Oh," she said, her eyes wide with surprise as she saw me. "Oh, h-hi, Roxas."

"Hey," I said cheerfully. "Did Axel bail on you again?"

"I never bail, you moron!" Axel flamed up, whacking me against his head.

"Mind your language, Axel," Kairi said warningly as the twins were snickering. "Yeah, well, if you want to keep your 'non-bailing'-strike up, you better not let me do everything!"

"But Kairi-" Axel complained. "Roxas is here and I had to work an early shift this morning."

"Axel…"

"I'll do it," I said, putting Vanitas on my shoulders. "Come on, let's go wash some clothes!"

Sora grabbed Axel's hand and started pulling him along. "Axy! Let's go on an adventure!"

"Sora, we're just doing the laundry…"

"Axy, you're ruining it," Vanitas scolded him. "Off to infinity and beyond!"

Kairi chuckled as we all marched into the scullery.

"Have fun!"

* * *

><p>Sora and Vanitas helped. Or at least, they tried to.<p>

They started throwing clothes around and not in any direction near the washing machine.

"Sora, Van, this way," Axel said, extending a hand. "It's supposed to go _inside _the washing machine."

"We're building a fortress!" Sora said excitedly, Vanitas heaving Axel's boxers onto the pile.

"A fortress?" I asked. "Out of Axel's filthy underwear?"

Vanitas nodded. "Yes! Come on, Daddy! Let's build a fortress!"

"A fortress of love!" Sora chanted behind a heap of sheets, waving .

Axel gave them a blank look. "Seriously? I keep wondering whether there will be something in this world that I have not yet seen, because I've seen it all. Not yet, I suppose," he added with a sigh as he stood up. "All right! Let's get building!"

I, however, had some trouble really focussing on building a fortress with dirty underwear and socks while my mind wandered off to tonight.

To the date.

Well, first I had to clean up the dirty socks Vanitas had thrown at me.

"Daddy! Stop dreaming and start building!" he shouted excitedly.

"Yeah, man," Axel said, his spikes visible over the edge of T-shirts. "Get back to work, slacker!"

"You've always just wanted to say that, haven't you?" I grinned, jumping over the part where Sora and Vanitas were hiding.

"All right, sir," I said jokingly to Vanitas. "What can I do?"

"You should strengthen that part of our defense!" Sora roared.

"I got everything under control, captain," Axel played along, saluting Sora. "This part's all clear."

"Great," Vanitas said with a grin. "C'mon, Sora, let's get more soldiers!"

"You two stay behind and defend the fortress!" Sora demanded, pointing a small finger at us, a stern expression on his face that reminded me so much of his sister.

The two of them marched off, in the most literal way possible, crossing Kairi's path in the hallway.

"Where did you leave Roxas and- What are you two doing?" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise as she saw the spectacle.

"It's the fortress of love, Kairi," Axel snickered, hiding behind a sheet. "Don't fight it!"

"We have our orders, m'dam!" I said playfully. "We cannot let you take another step closer! Please back off, with your hands in the air!"

She chuckled, hiding her smile behind her hand. "What about the laundry?"

"Will do too, m'dam!" Axel said with a reassuring tone in his voice. "After the reinforcements have come."

"Reinforcements?" Kairi breathed, looking behind her to find the two toddlers marching back again. "Hey, what's with all the-"

Vanitas and Sora had carried as many stuffed toys as they could take downstairs and were now spreading them throughout the scullery.

"Look, mommy, we have brought soldiers!" Vanitas said proudly, showing her a giraffe.

"That's nice," Kairi said, bending down to stroke Van's hair. "Who else is joining your army?"

"The elephant!" Sora chanted, pushing the stuffed toy in her arms. "Oh, oh, and the turtle too! Look, Vani! It's mr. Turtle!"

"And I have the tiger! Roar!"

"What about those two big guys over there?" Kairi said, pointing to us.

"They're low ranked," Vanitas shrugged. "We feed them to the birds!"

"Noo, to the cannons," Sora said, nudging his brother. "Not to the birds! Daddy is a higher rank, though!"

"Oh, yes," Vanitas nodded fervently. "Yes, Daddy is very good. Axy's trying too hard."

Axel gave them a glare.

"Oh wait," Sora squeaked. "Axy's kind of good as well!"

Kairi laughed before she gave Axel a stern look. "Did you let them watch you play Call of Duty again?"

"Maybe," Axel said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not as far as I'm concerned. They could've snuck into my room when I wasn't noticing."  
>Kairi shook her head a little, standing up, hiding another smile. "Well, boys, have fun! Oh, and Axel," she turned. "Don't forget to wash the entire fortress, all right?"<p>

"S'okay," Axel mumbled as Vanitas started to bury him into stuffed animals. "LOOK AXY LOOK! IT'S MR. SNAKE! SAY HELLO TO MR. SNAKE!"

Sora clambered onto my lap, the tiger toy in his arms. "We're safe here in the fortress of love, right, daddy?"

I wrapped one arm securely around his small figure.

"Of course you are safe here," I promised.

As long as this family stuck together in its own 'fortress of love', there was always a safe haven to return to.

I was reading way too much into these things.

* * *

><p>"You sure you're gonna be all right?" Axel asked, raising his brow.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, I know this stuff," I nudged Axel. "I've put them to bed before, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have," Axel said, fiddling with his thumbs. "But it just doesn't feel right to have you put them to bed alone."

"Alone?" I said, a bit confused. "Kairi's here as well, isn't she?"

"She's going out tonight as well," Axel shrugged. "With friends, I reckon. She said she'd take care of a babysitter, so you'll be off duty very soon. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," I answered, relieved. I hadn't been quite sure what Kairi had told Axel and I was kind of happy she didn't drop the 'boyfriend'-bomb yet. "C'mon man, go have some fun."

"It's really not like it's gonna be fun," Axel groaned. "Just this colleagues-drink thingy."

"Make it fun then," I said, gently pushing him towards the entrance. "Bye Axy!"

"Bye, Roxy," he said, snickering. "See you tomorrow!"

I heard the twins run back downstairs after their bath as soon as I closed the door behind Axel, who had been really reluctant about his drink night with his boss and colleagues.

I had happened to know that beforehand, so I kind of planned it in. It would be a shame if he had decided to really stay at home tonight.

"Daddy, daddy!" Sora decided to cling onto my leg as if his life depended on it. "Will you read us a story?"

"A story about the adventures in the fortress of love!" Vanitas exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Sure thing," I said, taking their hands to guide them back upstairs. Kairi had somehow managed to put their pajamas on and was about to head down when she saw us coming up.

"Oh, there you all are," she said, a stern face. "C'mon, it's past bedtime already!"

"But mommy," Vanitas whined. "I want daddy to read us a story!"

"Yeah!" Sora joined his brother. "He promised!"

She gave me a smile. "Is that so?" she said gently. "All right! Let's get into bed and hear that story!"

And once upon a time…

* * *

><p>We had half an hour left before our 'date' would start when the twins were finally fast asleep.<p>

Kairi gave a small sigh. "They're finally asleep," she murmured contently.

"Time to get ready then," I whispered with a grin.

She gave me a shy look. "Right, um, can-"

"You better hurry," I ruffled through her hair. "Because I believe someone will be at the door at eight o'clock."

She giggled as she dashed into her own room. "Then get out! We don't want him to think I'm two-timing him!"

I laughed, gently walking down the stairs, as silent as I could to avoid waking the twins and unleashing the terrors that came along with the waking.

Because I had been here all day, I couldn't change into my 'going-out' clothes early, so I had brought them in my backpack.

Axel had not asked any questions, perhaps because he wasn't very perceptive today, but I had been relieved anyway.

Downstairs, I quickly got into my nice pair of jeans (the ones that hadn't been ripped to death by the twins), into my clean shirt and my blue jacket.

In the small mirror in the hall, I found out that my hair was a lost cause, but other than that, I was quite happy with how I looked.

Besides, she had seen Sora barf the contents of his stomach on me before (he had eaten way too much candy and had been jumping on the couch with excitement that I had arrived), so I didn't worry too much either way.

I had fifteen minutes left.

Kairi was still moving back and forth from her bedroom to the bathroom.

I heard a soft knock on the door.

Quickly, I moved over to open the door.

"Oh, hello, Roxas!"

It was Olette, who seemed a bit confused but pleased to find me here.

"Hi, Olette," I said, grinning. "Good to see you."

Olette, who would be taking care of the twins for tonight, stepped inside. "What are you doing here? You look nice, by the way."

"Thanks," I said as she hung up her coat. "I'm-"

"Hey, Olette!"

Kairi came walking down the stairs.

She wore a light pink dress that had a tight corset, but had a very loose skirt attached to it.

She could've played a role in a fairytale while looking like that. She had put her hair up again, the loose curls bouncing as she hurried downstairs.

"Oh," Olette said, smirking as she seemed to realize what was going on. "You're going on a date with Roxas, then."

She gave Olette a grin as she stood next to me. "I am," she said happily. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"It's all right," Olette said, chuckling. "Especially now that I know you're going out with Roxas! I had no idea you two had a thing going on…"

I gently put my arm around her as she looked up at me. "Well, I guess we didn't really know either."

Olette beamed at us. "Well, go on then! Get out! And have fun, you two! I'll take care of the twins tonight!"

"Thanks!" I said, taking my coat and handing over Kairi's. "See you tonight, Olette!"

"Bye!"

* * *

><p>"Has Olette taken care of the kids before?" I asked, our fingers intertwined.<p>

"Not very often," Kairi said, smiling at me. "But it has happened that Axel and I both had to work at the same time, and she jumped in for us anytime."

"I see," I chuckled. "She did fail to mention that to me, though."

"Speaking of mentioning… why did you make the choice for Twilight's Moon?" she asked softly, her smile still intact though she avoided my gaze. "It's not a very popular restaurant anymore."

"It used to be," I shrugged a little. "Or so I heard."

"Heard?"

I chuckled, stopping for a traffic light. "Yeah. Axel's usually very alert, but if you can get him off guard, he's an awesome resource if you need information."

"So Axel told you?"

"Yeah. I wanted to know if you had any preferences when it came down to dinner, but I didn't want to ask you personally," I said, winking at her. "I would ruin my own surprise."

"That's true," she said, laughing. "I was surprised when I found out."

"That was what I was going for," I responded with a grin.

I parked the car of my dad in the parking lot and helped her to get out of the car.

She chuckled as she took my hand again. "You're a true gentleman, aren't you?"

"I try to be," I said easily.

We went inside and got to our reserved table.

There was a fire gently burning in the fireplace, our wooden table in the corner of the room.

A few other people were spread through the small restaurant, the ambience was very cosy.

After we ordered our drinks, Kairi leaned a little bit forward, her elbow on the table as she supported her chin with her hand.

"So," she said, a hint of a smile in her eyes. "This is a rather nice turn of events; from chasing little boys to bed to having dinner with you. I could do this more often."

"It keeps things interesting," I said teasingly. "Next time, we'll all go out together."

"That'll be a challenge," she said, raising a brow. "It's already hard to keep them in line at home, can you imagine them being here?"

"Oh yes, I can imagine them being here," I deadpanned. "I can imagine what the place looks like when they're done here."

She laughed. "At least they will be attacking the place; they seem to like the idea that we're out as a family."

"Yeah Axel's a different story. While the twins are tearing the place apart, Axel will be tearing my head off."

"I think he's slightly adjusting himself to it," Kairi said thoughtfully. "He doesn't seem that much against it as he used to be."

"I think it's normal," I said, smiling a little. "Doesn't every brother think no man is good enough for their little sister?"

"I guess so," she said with a grin. "Still, the choice between Riku and you is easily made, don't you think?"

"Obviously Riku," I said, smirking. "It's really a shame he works at the same place I do."

"Oh really?" she said, her eyes wide. "I didn't know that!"

"I did, though," I laughed. "It hasn't been fun the past few days."

The waiter brought our drinks and Kairi stirred her tea with her straw. "How long have we known each other now?"

"A couple of months, I think," I said, watching her take a sip. "Time flies, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "It sure did. I still remember the first time we met. I was so embarrassed."

"Hey, don't be," I said playfully. "Besides, I nearly died that day."

"What? How?" She gasped, frowning a little.

"I nearly broke my neck, tripping over all those toys," I quasi-complained. "And then your stupid brother tells me to 'not mind the mess'… what kind of household do you two run?"

She burst into laughter, as I grabbed her hand. "Awwh, poor baby," she cooed. "I'm so sorry for all the bad times you've had in our house."

I grinned at her. "Well, at least after that, things got immensely better."

She blushed. "Shut up, pervert."

I gently pressed my lips on top of her hand, amused at her blush.

"Still, it did get better," I said softly.

Her smile widened. "Yeah and then we got to play hide and seek together."

"Yeah. I did nearly kiss you back then," I admitted, flushing as I started rubbing the back of my neck. "Too bad we were caught by Sora and Vanitas."

"So you did want to kiss me then!" she exclaimed, before bursting in laughter. "I knew it! It was all over your face! I knew it!"  
>"Are you two ready to take your orders?" the waiter was back again, a small notebook in his hands.<p>

"Absolutely," Kairi said happily.

* * *

><p>I yawned. It had been a horrible morning. Go figure, an early shift, watching the twins all day and then having to get drinks with my stupid colleagues.<p>

If it sounds like a big bag of nope to you… that is because that's practically all it is.

I gently turned the key in the lock, trying not to be too loud.

Kairi would probably already be sleeping and so would I, hopefully.

I was kind of surprised when I heard the television on.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hey, Axel," the brunette on the couch said. "How's it going?"

"I'm fine, thanks," I said, running a hand through my hair. "You're Olette, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you've got me memorized."

"Of course," I said, a bit smug. "So, where's Kairi?"

"She's on a date," Olette said cheerfully as she gathered her things. "I guess I can leave if you're at home, right?"

"On a date?" I said, very suspiciously. "With who?"

"With Roxas, of course," Olette said, looking at me. "Why, didn't they tell you?"

That son of a bitch.

"No, I think they somehow… failed to mention that… delightful fact… to me."

* * *

><p>"The food is even better than I could remember!" Kairi said surprisedly.<p>

"Agreed. Though I have never been here before," I admitted a bit sheepishly. "It's very good, still."

"Thanks for taking me here, Roxas," she said gently, a sweet smile on her face. "I'm really glad you took me out."

"My pleasure," I said with a grin.

We continued to eat in a comfortable silence.

"Hey Roxas," she finally said.

I looked up at her with a questioning look.

"I thought I would be very awkward," she admitted softly. "But actually, I feel very much at ease."

"It's the same for me," I said, grinning. "I was so nervous this afternoon that the kids chastised me for dozing off all the time."

"Funny, isn't it?" she said, intertwining our fingers again. "I feel like I've known you for years."

I reached out to stroke her cheek with our intertwined fingers. "I want to know you for every year of the rest of my life," I said softly.

Her face lit up and started to shine. "I want to be with you for every year of the rest of my life," she said happily.

"You know, a guy can get away with a cheesy line like that, but a girl?" I said teasingly. "I don't care, though. So don't hold back on every cheesy line you know."

"Oh, I know quite a few," she said, a playful twinkle in her eye. "You ready?"

"I've got all evening. And every year of the rest of our lives, obviously."

We both started to laugh and I wished it would never end.

* * *

><p>"No, really! My parents did put me on dancing classes as soon as I hit puberty," I said indignant. "I swear I still know how to dance a little."<p>

She giggled. "Really? Then you have to prove it," she said cheerfully, a mischievous flicker in her eyes.

"Ballroom dancing takes two," I said matter-of-factly as I extended my hand to her with a smile.

"Oh my," she said, flushing a bit again. "I'm afraid I never really learned how to dance."

"Lady always follows," I chuckled. "My dancing teacher used to say: ladies do not think on the dance floor. They feel."

"All right," she said, walking into my arms, hesitatingly putting her hand in mine and her other hand on my upper arm. "Well… lead on, then."

We were outside the restaurant, on our way to the car. Somehow, the conversation had landed on dancing and well… she didn't believe I took dance lessons.

I couldn't believe I did either… until now.

"You're not supposed to look at me," I said gently. "Always look to the left."

"But your face is much more interesting," she said playfully, though she averted her gaze to her left.

I made my steps deliberately slow. There was no music anyway and I wanted to keep her close like this for as long as possible.

"Hey, Roxas?"

"Hmmm?"

"I want to take dancing lessons with you. I'm terrible."

* * *

><p>After a few angry minutes, I decided that I wasn't so angry anymore.<p>

Perhaps this was exactly why they hadn't mentioned their date to me.

And to remain honest to myself, this kind of explained a lot.

All those glances, the way he was always so gentle and friendly around my sister and the flushed cheeks whenever she said something nice to him.

I wasn't going to lie, I was a bit glad that she chose him and he chose her. I didn't fancy Riku as my brother-in-law and now I had my best friend dating my sister.

But still… that they didn't tell me kind of bothered me.

Well… two, I mean, three could play this game. They had no idea I knew.

This could give me the perfect opportunity to tease them a little bit.

Oh-ho, yes, I could be an expert in cock-blocking.

And that was exactly what I was going to do.

* * *

><p>"There you go," I whispered.<p>

"Why are you whispering?" she asked, raising a brow as I was hunched over a little.

Before I could answer, she started to laugh. "You look like the hunchback of Notre Dame!"

"You're so mean," I complained. "I'm only trying not to wake anything or anyone."

"I know," she said gently, as I stood up straight. "You're really sweet," she added as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"You're such a flatterer," I grumbled, but I held her close while grinning at her. "Thanks for coming with me."

"It was great," she sighed as she gave me a sweet smile. "When can we do this again?"

"Soon enough," I said with a mysterious smile.

She giggled. "All right," she said happily. "And will I see you tomorrow?"

"You will," I said, resting my forehead against her. "Hey, Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

She blushed, though it was a faint pink color as she smiled happily. "I love you too."

I then gently took her face in my hands, brushing my nose against hers. "Sleep tight, Kairi."

"Sleep tight, Roxas," she murmured back.

Very slowly, I leaned in to press a soft, gentle kiss on her full lips.

She kissed me back, her strawberry flavor all I ever wanted to taste.

She broke off the kiss to nestle her face in my neck, a deep red color on her face.

"I love it when you blush," I murmured, brushing her cheek with my fingertips.

She gave me such a radiant smile that I was not sure I would ever leave her side again.

Then a loud singing noise that could only belong to Axel made me realize that I didn't have much of a choice.

* * *

><p>After escaping Axel and hurrying up to my room, I found my bed to be made, with a single red rose on top of my pillow.<p>

Curiously, I took it in my hands, careful not to prick my fingers on the thorns, and a small note fell off it.

_Next Friday, 7 PM? _

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading, as always :) <strong>

**Thanks for sticking around as well! It took me a while and I hope this makes you feel happy.**

**It made me feel happy. It reminded me of my own dates with my boyfriend, somewhat... :)**

**Until next chapter! **


	16. An Unexpected Day

**_Roses are red, terrors are… blue?_**

_Pairing: RoxasXKairi {Roxiri}  
>Genre: Romance, friendship, humour, drama<br>Rated: T (M?)  
>Summary: Roxas's life has always been normal. But after becoming friends with Axel, he enters a whole new family. With two twin terrors. <em>

* * *

><p><strong><em>Chapter Sixteen<br>An Unexpected Day _**

* * *

><p>"Oh, hey, you're early," Axel said as I appeared in the kitchen, pulling his headphones off his ears.<p>

"I brought the mail," I dropped the package on the table. "I figured I'd stop by after work."

"You already had a shift?" he asked as I sat down, shutting his laptop.

"Hmm, yeah," I said, running a hand through my hair. "Twins still on bed?"

"No," Axel said with a grin. "They're actually heading for Kindergarten for their first time."

"That's rather spectacular," I said a bit surprised. "That's why you're even up, then."

Axel laughed, standing up. "Maybe. Hey, do you want anything to drink?"

"Sure, I could do with a coffee," I said with a grin as he went to make one for himself as well.

"Yeah, it was a tough morning," Axel yawned. "They were really overexcited. Even Kairi had trouble with getting them dressed."

"She's with them?" I asked nonchalantly as I watched my friend sit down again.

"Yeah, yeah, she's with them," he waved me off. "So, how about I get dressed and we settle our score from last time?"

"Oh sure," I grinned. "There's nothing better than some vengeance in the morning."

"Agreed," Axel hummed cheerfully. "All right, let's go up."

* * *

><p>"Okay, Sora, this is it," Vanitas said, voice shaking as he took his brother's hand.<p>

"It's so big," Sora said with a small voice. "And so loud."

He was right; the other children were all screaming and yelling as they were all over the schoolyard.

"Yes," Vanitas whimpered. "I don't want to go anymore."

Sora was silent as he took his surroundings in, Vanitas already turning around to run back to their mother's safe arms.

"Hey, Vani, where are you going?" Sora suddenly asked as Vanitas tugged at his hand.

"I want to go home," Vanitas said angrily, holding back tears.

"But Vani," Sora said cheerfully. "We were going to have new adventures here!"

"I don't want them anymore," Vanitas said, frowning. "I want to go home to mommy, daddy and Axy."

"But they'll think we were scared," Sora said wisely as he tugged at his brother's hand. "Look! There's blocks! We can build a new fortress!"

"But Sora-"

"S'okay," Sora said, patting Vanitas on his head. "You don't have to be scared. I'll be always by your side, Vani."

A weak smile appeared on Vanitas's face as he nodded at his brother.

"All right, Sora!" he said more cheery now. "Let's go on an adventure! Bye mommy!" he added, yelling over his shoulder at their mother.

"Bye mommy!" Sora joined in before they forgot all about their mother on their quest for saving some damsels in distress.

She waved, smiling though she had trouble keeping in some tears herself.

* * *

><p>"You're lucky my time was up, pal," Axel said grumpily. "I could've murdered you within two seconds."<p>

"Oh really?" I said, raising a brow, holding in my laughter. "I would've still fired twenty missiles at your face."

"Okay, five seconds," Axel admitted, laughing. "It was all-"

"I'm home!" Kairi's voice came from downstairs.

"C'mon," I said to Axel, kicking him off his chair. "Let's go hear her out!"

"What about my own free will?" Axel complained as we went to the staircase. "You're so bossy."

"You're such a hypocrite, Axel."

"All right, all right, I yield," Axel said, chuckling. "It's just my bad influence on you."

"That must be it. Hey Kairi!" I said to my girlfriend, who beamed at me. "How did it go?"

"Well," she said with a smile as her brother walked up to her side to pat her head before he went to grab his shoes. "It went… surprisingly well. After we had arrived at school, for that matter," she added darkly. "Before we were on the streets, it was horrible. They were bouncing all over the place."

"Yeah, Axel told me," I said, chuckling a bit as she took off her jacket. "How did it go when you arrived there?"

"Well," Kairi said a bit softer. "They were a bit scared. The whole area was of course a bit intimidating to them and for a moment I thought they would come running back to me resulting in me having to drag them inside."

"Oh no," Axel said, his face serious as he stood next to his sister. "Did you have to make a scene?"

"That's the funny part," Kairi said gently. "I didn't have to. Vanitas really wanted to come back to me, I could see it in his eyes. But Sora… they were holding hands together and Sora… started to encourage Vanitas to go with him."

"That's great," Axel said relieved. "That's probably the best way it could've gone."

"Yeah," Kairi murmured, her face fallen. "Like I said: it went surprisingly well. You're off for work?"

"Yes," Axel said, giving her a light kiss on top of her head. "See you tonight, Kairi."

"Bye Axel," she said with a smile.

"Oh right," Axel said, with a look at me. "Do you mind if Roxas stays until tonight? I've actually made him stay until I'm back," he said, though he seemed a little amused.

"No, not at all," Kairi said quickly. "The twins will be back before he gets bored."

"I doubt he'll be bored," Axel said as he gave me a strange look that was somewhere between amusement and disapproval.

Somehow, his look made the hairs on the back of my neck rise, as if he wanted to tell me something.

But he couldn't know. It was downright impossible.

"Bye, Axe," I quickly said, grinning at my friend."See you tonight."

"Bye, Roxy," he said, the strange look gone as he grinned widely, throwing the door open. "Bye Kairi."

"Good luck with work," I said after him as he let the door fall back into its place.

I thought I heard a thanks before the door fell shut with a clang.

Without further hesitation, I moved towards Kairi, wrapping my arms around her.

She looked up, a smile on her face, but her eyes were not smiling along.

"Something didn't go that well, huh?" I asked concernedly.

"No, it did go well," Kairi sighed, looking down again, biting her lip.

"Then what's wrong?" I murmured against her forehead.

She didn't respond, just nuzzled closer to my chest.

I stroke her hair as her breathing started to hitch.

"Did something happen after you brought them to kindergarten?" I mumbled, my heart frozen as the hitching in her breathing became more frequent and her shoulders started to shake a little.

When she looked up at me, I realized immediately that whatever had upset her, was way deeper than when she had come home from the disaster that had been her date with Riku.

This was an old wound that had been ripped open, and knowing the Hikari history, it was not tough to figure out what that one was.

But I had no idea how to comfort her; I was helpless.

She was shaking on her legs, the grief coursing through every inch of her.

I held her close against me, kept her stable as I buried my face in her hair.

I had no other questions for her, for her tears were the answer.

She had let go of every control, sobbing uncontrollably, her hands balled into fists around the fabric of my sweater.

I squeezed my own eyes shut, pressing her closer.

"I'm so sorry," I burst out in a whisper. "My dear, I'm so sorry."

She only cried.

* * *

><p>Still hiccuping, I clenched the cup of tea between my trembling fingers.<p>

I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, I shouldn't have let get this to me so much, but I had no words.

Roxas didn't say much himself either. When he noticed I had calmed down a little, he had put me down on one of the kitchen chairs and made me a cup of tea.

I could smell camille; if I wasn't so sad, I'd have found it funny that he remembered that camille is supposed to be calming.

He took another chair, shoved it closer to me and sat down next to me, his arm around my back, his head leaning against my shoulder.

After a few sips and after having listened to Roxas's stable breathing for a while, I breathed out a shaky sigh.

"Seeing them… seeing them support each other and going to kindergarten for the first time… that's something… that's something… my… my m-mother should've seen. Not me. I… I can still remember what… what she said to me when I went to the primary school for the first time. I… this was not… not my place. My… my m-mother should've been there for them, not me."

My tears hadn't dried up, not after all these years and definitely not after what happened this morning.

He didn't say anything, but I knew he was listening. His hand on my back started to move up and down, very slowly and very gently.

The grief was enormous, it ripped through me and tore me apart. I missed them so bad; my mother's embrace, my father's teasing.

Why? Why had it happened to us? Why were they gone?

I pressed a shaking hand against my mouth, squeezing my eyes shut, immediately visualizing my father's flaming hair, my mother's smile.

"I… I can't pick them up," I wailed. "I can't do it. I can't let them… show… show this."

"It's okay," he said, his voice deep and low. "We'll go together."

"R-Roxas, I'm so-"

"It's okay," he repeated, looking up at me, stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

"I-I thought I…" I sighed, swallowing a couple of times. "I thought I had this under control. This only happened once last year. I don't-"

"It won't ever disappear," Roxas said gently, his butterfly touch removing the tears from the tender skin under my eyes. "Every time when you will encounter an important moment, this or something like this will happen, I think."

His crystal eyes were calm, though I could see something underneath the surface.

"I'm so sorry," I blurted out, recognizing the look in his eyes from the before. "I've made you upset, haven't I?"

"No," he lied, looking away.

"Roxas," I murmured, taking his hands between my trembling fingertips to turn his gaze back to me. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," he said gently, his voice a bit shaky.

"Thanks for being here," I whispered with all the warmth my torn heart could muster.

He took my left hand and pressed the back of it against his forehead.  
>I could see he had gritted his teeth, but before I could say anything or do anything, I watched with a new lump in my throat as a single tear dripped onto his jeans.<p>

"Roxas," I said with a small voice. "Roxas, I-I…"

He sniffed, looking up and away at the same time, the back of my hand now pressed against the side of his face.

"I have nothing to cry about," he said, his voice raw, his eyes watery. "But you… I can't even help you. I can't make it better, I can… do nothing."

"You don't have to do anything," I whispered. "You're already doing so much. You even," I added with a hiccup that was supposed to be a chuckle. "You even remembered that you should give camille tea to someone if you want them to calm down."

He made a strange, strangled sound as if he was taking a deep breath and let out a chuckle at the same time.

He moved his arm back to wrap around my shoulders, leaning his forehead against mine with a weak smile as he removed the water from his eyes with one hand gesture. "Hey," he said, looking in my eyes. "I love you, Kairi."

"I love you too," I breathed, smiling back a little.

He pressed a soft kiss against my cheekbone.

"I won't cry anymore today," I said a bit shy.

He shrugged a little. "You don't have to force yourself," he said, his voice still a bit raw. "If it's going to come, it's no use bottling it up anyway. I'm not going anywhere."

"You shouldn't go anywhere," I nuzzled my face in his neck. "Thanks, Roxas."

His answer was a soft kiss on top of my head.

* * *

><p>I caught her looking at the clock. "Their first day is nearly over, is it?"<p>

She fiddled with her thumbs. "Yeah, it is."

"All right," I said, standing up. "Wait here."

She gave me a confused look as I walked to the hallway to grab our coats.

"Oh," she breathed when I came back. "You're really coming with me?"

"Of course," I said as she took her coat over from me. "We'll go together, right? Unless you prefer going alone," I said a bit reluctant.

"No, no," she said quickly, wrapping her arms around my waist. "I'm really glad you want to come along. I… I don't want to go alone again."

I saw her eyes start to water again, so I bent down to press a kiss on her full lips.

"C'mon, they'll want to tell you everything about their adventures," I said lightly, grabbing her hand.

She smiled weakly. "You're right," she said, squeezing my hand a little, grabbing the keys with her free hand. "Let's go then."

* * *

><p>"This place is much bigger in my memories," he blurted out as we arrived at the place.<p>

I felt his arm tug me closer as he looked around.

"You went here as well?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Though they did change a lot," he said, frowning a little.

"It must've appeared big to you because you were much smaller," I said wisely, trying to imagine a little version of the guy holding me. "You must've been really cute," I said with a small smile, looking up at him.

"Nope," he deadpanned. "I was horrible. Apparently, I acted like a zombie the first five years of my life, so my parents thought they had received a living dead child. Or a demon."

"Don't be silly," I giggled, nudging him a little. "Now I really want to see old photo's of you."

"Well, that's too bad," he said, grinning at me. "My parents burnt them all because they were afraid I wouldn't be visible on them."

"A vampire now? Oh, come on, Roxas!"

"No, seriously!"

He was playing with me, I could see it in his teasing smile. I was actually very grateful for his presence.

He had become my foundations, somehow. Without him, I'd be stumbling through broken glass everywhere.

"Oh, look," Roxas said, pointing to the entrance, immediately waving after his statement. "There they are!"

I quickly saw the excited faces of my little siblings, their spiky hair bouncing as they came running towards us, Sora nearly tripping over his own shoes.

"Mommy! Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!"

I leant through my knees to hug both of them. "Welcome back! Did you have a good time?"

"Yes!" Sora said excitedly. "We built a castle and Vanitas stole a car!"

Roxas started to laugh as he picked up Vanitas. "Already the little criminal, you are, huh?"  
>"No!" Vanitas said indignantly. "I borrowed it."<p>

"That's what they all say," Roxas said sternly, though his eyes twinkled.

"But, but, but," Sora interrupted. "The car was from a girl and she started to cry, so Vanitas and I told her she could live in our castle and then she was happy!"

"Of course she was happy to live with you in the castle!" I said kindly. "Did you guys become friends?"

"Yes!" Sora nodded. "We made soooooo many friends," he added, moving his hands apart to show me how many there were.

"Whoa, that's a lot of friends," Roxas whistled.

"Can we go back tomorrow?" Vanitas asked excitedly. "I don't want to go home!"

"Hey, what happened to playing games with me?" Roxas faked a pout, making Sora laugh.

"Of course we'll play with you," Vanitas said reassuringly. "Right, Sora?"

"Yes! All you have to do is go inside," Sora said, pointing back to the school we were walking away from. "And then you can play with us!"

"I think daddy is a bit too big for school," I said with a chuckle.

"Don't worry, mommy!" Sora said, beaming.

"Yeah," Vanitas added. "We'll just put him in our backpacks!"

"I'd love that," Roxas deadpanned. "Now, if you really don't want to go home, you can stay here. Then I will play with Mr. Ducky and Rudolph."

"No!" Sora gasped. "We want to play with Mr. Ducky and Rudolph!"

"C'mon, Sora," Vanitas ran already forward. "We'll be home earlier than Roxas and take our treasure back!"

"Yeah!" Sora chanted, running after his brother.

Roxas stuffed his hands in his pockets, grinning as he watched my brothers run off.

I linked my arm through his, smiling at him.

"Daddy, why are you not running?" Sora and Vanitas had come back.

"Because daddy is lazy," Roxas said with a wink. "And daddy wants to walk with mommy."

"Then we'll walk with mommy as well!" Sora said, grabbing my hand. "Right, Vani?"

"Yes!" Vanitas said, reaching for the hand around Roxas's arm. I lowered it so he could hold it.

I could feel my heart swell with love for the four great guys in my life.

Especially the one walking next to me with that smile gracing his lips.

* * *

><p>"Hey, I'm ba-" I couldn't even finish my sentence when I walked into the living room.<p>

It was silent, though everyone was there.

The twins lay on the floor, covered with stuffed toys, fast asleep. I could hear Vanitas snore.

On the couch, Roxas leaned against backside of the couch, his head supported by one hand, his eyes closed as he was fast asleep as well.

His other hand rested on Kairi's hair, who had rested her head on his lap, curled into a ball. Sleeping as well.

"Well, guess it was a rather unexpected day," I muttered, smiling.

Time to put the twins to bed and then to wake the cute couple over there.

Or maybe tomorrow was early enough to tease them with this.

They seemed like they needed this; just a little bit of peace.

I couldn't stop the smile on my face.

Perhaps I should try to make a move on Larxene, if it would turn out like they did…

Meh. Tomorrow was early enough.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thanks so much for reading!<br>**_  
><strong><em>I have so many ideas and write so much that sometimes this story gets a little behind on schedule and then suddenly I have exams again and yeah... you can catch my drift. Ah, well.<em>**

**_Thanks for everyone who left a review! It really motivates me that you like the story so far :) _**

**_Lots of love,_**

**_Your author_**


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